There is Another
by Harmony Valenka Smith
Summary: Being the only immortal around sucks, so what happens when another shows up? Skips finds that this other immortal knows a lot of things he doesn't, as well as a lot of things he does. Rated T for some violence, blood, and intense scenes.
1. Chapter 1: The Park

**Okay, okay, so I just got caught up in Regular Show. I have determined from my watching that Skips is my favorite character and, in honor of this, I shall write a fic just for him. Don't worry, the other characters will be in it too, but Skips will be the focus. I think it will be easy to piece together what I intend to happen, but I won't spoil anything ;) I do not own Regular Show. All rights to all products go to their proper owners. Here's my Regular Show fic: There is Another**

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Chapter 1: The Park

It was just another normal day at the park. The sun was shining and the park staff was gathered on the house steps waiting to be given their chores for the day. Benson looked at his staff sitting on the steps while he gave an unusual announcement. "All right, guys, there are new employees coming to the park, so I want everyone to be on their best behavior around them. Mr. Maellard _personally _sent them here," said Benson. This earned some groans from the employees. "I know, I know," Benson continued. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but upon the last inspection, Mr. Maellard said that we needed a female influence. He said it would bring more business to the park and make the staff more 'personable.' " Benson used air quotes at the word 'personable.' "Again, I want everyone to be on their best behavior in front of them. We need to make a good, polite first impression. So, no goofing off..." Benson eyed Mordecai and Rigby as he said this. "...No unnecessary physical contact..." Benson eyed Pops at this. Pops let out a sad sound before Benson continued. Muscle Man slowly raised his hand with a mischievous grin on his face, but Benson seemed to know what the man was thinking as he said, "...And no 'My Mom' jokes, Muscle Man. I mean it."

"Aw, that's lame," said Muscle Man.

"Lame or not, we're going to be polite to them on their first day, so there won't be any 'initiation period.' Am I understood?" asked Benson. The staff groaned, but soon murmured in agreement. "Good, they should be here any minute, so _behave._" He eyed Mordecai and Rigby one last time. The two slackers put up their hands as a gesture of 'We weren't up to anything,' but Benson still narrowed his eyes in suspicion before glancing at his watch. The wait for the new employees of the park had begun.

It wasn't very long before a loud whooping was heard as well as another strange sound. The park staff turned toward the origin of the sound and saw an upright piano being ridden up and down the park path like a skateboard. The raccoon on top seemed to be the origin of the whooping and the strange sound that was heard was that of the piano's keys being struck by the force of its adventure. It was a strange sight to behold.

The raccoon came skidding to a stop just short of Benson's feet and did a somersault off of the instrument. The female raccoon was grinning from ear to ear. "That was totally rad!" she said excitedly.

Benson, as if coming from a daze, shook his head and spoke. "You must be one of the new employees to the park. Are you Michelle or Renae?" He looked at his clipboard to reference the names.

The raccoon scoffed, "Naw, man, I'm Renae. Michelle's setting up the bus where we were told it could go. She should be here soon enough."

"Oh, you'll be staying on the park grounds?" asked Pops.

"Totally, Michelle and I are totally roommates. We've been buddies for nearly five years now. When we were offered the park job by Mr. Maellard, I was like 'Yeah-yuh!' and Michelle was all like, 'Hmm, this may suit our interests. We'll take the job.' She's so formal like that," Renae went on.

"Well, perfect, it sounds like you two are going to work out just fine," said Benson. After a moment, he caught a glimpse of someone approaching from behind the trees.

"Oh, there's Michelle now. Hey! Over here!" called Renae to her friend. Michelle was a blue jay with lighter feathers than those of Mordecai and a beautiful hourglass figure that was only sharpened by her hip-hugging pants and summer-time t-shirt. This was a vast contrast to Renae since the raccoon had no visible curves whatsoever, so her thin, long-sleeved shirt and poofy skirt did nothing to show off her figure. This was especially noticeable when the blue jay finally stood beside her more radical friend.

"Well, it's nice to see you two here and on time. I'm Benson, your boss, and here are your co-workers: Mordecai, Rigby, Muscle Man, High-Five Ghost, Thomas, Pops, and Skips," Benson pointed out the staff and named them off. "Welcome to the park."

Michelle made some movements with her hands and Muscle Man pointed out, "What's she doin'?"

Renae quickly hushed him and watched intently. Once Michelle had finished her hand movements, Renae replied, "Totally."

"Wait... was that sign language?" asked Benson.

"Yeah, Michelle's mute, so she can't speak, but she can hear everything going on around her and can read lips very well," replied Renae.

"Cool," said Mordecai. "So, what did she say?"

"She said that the park hasn't changed a bit since she was last here," said Renae.

"When were you last here? I don't remember seeing you around before," said Benson. The rest of the staff murmured in agreement. Michelle just shrugged before making more hand motions.

"She said that it was a while ago and she would probably easily be missed since so many people come to the park as it is," translated Renae. Michelle made more hand motions and Renae translated as they moved about. "I hope none of you think any less of me just because I am mute. Renae as my witness, I'm a pretty cool gal." Renae then said some words of her own, "Aw, you know it!" The two friends high-fived and turned to Benson.

"All right, now that that's out of the way, we'll get onto the jobs for the day. Michelle and Renae, you two will be helping Pops clean the house. When you're done with that, come see me and I'll give you someone else to follow for the day. We're pretty packed up with chores, so we could use the extra help," said Benson. He gave everyone else their chores and everyone went to their respective places.

As the day went on, the sun still shone high in the sky and Michelle and Renae were getting the hang of the park duties fairly quickly. It wasn't until the late afternoon that a snag in the otherwise beautiful day occurred. This snag came in the form of a package at the park house doorstep and was addressed to Michelle. The new girl was called down to Benson's office with her translating companion to get the package from Benson.

"Wow, how does anyone know where you are?" asked Renae. She paused. "Come to think of it... who else even knows you?" Michelle made some hand motions before taking the package out of the office and shutting the door with a slam.

There were actually a good number of enemies Michelle had attracted over the course of the years. She knew full well that they all had an axe to grind with her and would find her very quickly if she wasn't careful. She thought she had more time. _It would appear that someone has found me. I was wondering when they would. It has been five years since my last problem, after all,_ Michelle thought to herself.

Michelle went to the bus where she and Renae lived, locked the door, and opened the package while sitting on the couch there. Within moments, the twine had been pulled away and the brown paper easily torn apart. A small black box lay beneath the wrapping and Michelle's eyes widened. She undid the snap on the box and opened it to immediately find a folded note. The note read:

_Dear Michelle,_

_I know it has been some time since we last spoke. When was it last... five years ago? So many tragedies have occurred involving we two that I often lose track. In any case, do you remember Angelica? That girl who was always out to get you and best you at everything? Well... don't get mad, but... I married her. She's now my wife. We're going on two years married, but that's some time away._

_Anyway, as you know, I keep track of the whereabouts of every soul in the universe, you included. So, you know that I am one person you'll never shake off your back. Saying this, you won't be surprised when I say that Angelica has found out about your whereabouts as well. I fear for you, Michelle, because you are the one person, besides my wife and child, that I want to see alive most. I know, strange isn't it? Typically I would encourage death and here I am turning you away from me._

_Contained within this package is a vial. Inside this vial... well... you already know its contents, don't you? I need you to consume the contents of the vial before Angelica catches up with you. I was able to persuade her into letting me give you a warning, so I assume she will be there shortly after you finish reading this. Please don't blame me for this. I had no idea the full extent of your rivalry. If you ignore this chance... I don't think I need to paint that picture for you, do I? She will make it hard to live and will do what she can to bring harm to you and your friend, Renae. Don't waste this chance, because you and I both know how lucky you are to even get one from me._

_I will always love you, Michelle._

_Sincerely,_

_Death._

Michelle had gone through many different emotions while reading the short letter. She had anger at the remembrance of her old rival and at the fact that she and Death had gotten married. She had shock at the fact that they had gotten married as well as the care and attention he was giving to her... even after all the time that had passed. Once she finished the note, she looked at the vial and she did indeed know what its contents were... and didn't wish to take it. Many like her would have jumped at such a chance, but Michelle was different and she refused. She shut the box only to hear a knock on the door.

Michelle got up to answer the door and wasn't much surprised to see Death standing there. "May I come in?" he asked in his usual Cockney accent. Michelle stood aside and let him in. "I thought you might refuse my offer." He gave a short laugh. "I was being serious, you know." Michelle folded her arms. "Oh, come now, Michelle. You and I both know the consequences if you don't face her. If you don't take this vial, you will regret it." Michelle did some signs and Death nodded. "All right, fine, be stubborn. Don't say I didn't warn you though." He left the bus, but he left the box with the vial in it behind. Michelle sighed and looked at the vial. She uncorked it and was about to pour it down the drain when she heard a scream. Michelle tensed as she recognized it as that of Renae's voice. Michelle took the vial and ran outside.

The sky was dark and the winds were blowing hard. Michelle's eyes widened as she saw this. She ran toward the source of the scream and was met with a dangerous sight.

Angelica was controlling the winds with her operatic voice. She waved her arms to and fro to direct the winds. She was also able to conjure weapons and restraints with her rhyming voice. The park staff was having trouble subduing her. Michelle narrowed her eyes angrily and approached her multi-armed foe. She gave her old rival a good shove that knocked her over.

"You! You have a lot of nerve knocking me down, traitor!" Angelica screamed at Michelle from the ground. Michelle crossed her arms and gave a look that said, 'End this.' Angelica just laughed. "Oh, that's right. I should be _thanking _you. If you hadn't given up the business, I might never have made Death see me for how I truly am: a woman with a voice much better than yours." Michelle still held the vial in one hand and was shakily clenching it as well as her other fist at her sides. "What's the matter, Michelle? Cat got your tongue? Oh, yes, that's right, you gave up your voice out of _compassion._ Pathetic. We are above these creatures, Michelle, don't you see that?"

"Michelle, what's she talking about? Do you know her?" asked Renae.

"Oh, where are my manners? Perhaps I ought to introduce myself in the best way I know how," said Angelica. She started heading for Renae, but Michelle stepped into her path. "Get out of my way, you unworthy cretin!" Angelica tried to knock Michelle down, but Michelle remained standing. Her look was that of steel. A look that said, 'Touch my friend and you're in for a world of pain.' "All right, do you wish to face me unarmed? Be my guest." She was beginning to charge energy in her hands, her voice powering her on. She was about to shoot at Michelle, but someone got in the way. The unfortunate person struck was Skips. Michelle rushed to Skips's side and looked broken. Her mouth was open, wanting to utter words that she was unable to utter. "Pathetic," was all Angelica had to say to that.

Those words were the only ones needed to fuel the emotions building inside of Michelle. She stood up, uncorked the bottle, and downed its contents. After a short coughing fit, she set the bottle on the ground and approached Angelica. Then, for the first time in five years, she spoke. "Leave here, Angelica."

"I will leave when I see fit to leave and that time is not now," replied Angelica.

"Then you leave me with no choice. I'm sorry," said Michelle. Without having to even utter a word, energy was already being built in her arms. She sang out in a beautiful voice, "_Leave now, you foolish siren, leave now! You've had your fun, but now your time is done so leave now._" She shot energy from her arms at this and Angelica was pushed back a few feet. Her shoes dragged in the ground both from the force of her resistance and Michelle's energy.

Angelica laughed confidently. "_Why would I leave when the fun has just begun? Come now, Michelle, can't you see that I've already won?_" She shot energy from her arms at Michelle. This energy didn't faze Michelle since it was blocked. Michelle smiled at Angelica's panicked face.

"_It would appear your bag of tricks is as small as ever. Leave now, leave this park forever!_" Michelle cast her arm upward, sending energy toward Angelica. The multi-armed woman was sent flying.

On the wind, it was barely heard, "I will get you, Michelle!"

Once Angelica had gone, the winds died down and the clouds dissipated. The sun returned and the day continued as if it had never been interrupted in the first place. Michelle smiled at her accomplishment shortly before rushing to Skips's side. She pushed his concerned friends aside as she looked at the damage the yeti had endured. "My, my, Skips, you just had to play the hero," said Michelle. "As foolhardy as it was, I liked it." She smiled and laid her hands on Skips's chest. "_Remove the debris, clean the wounds, heal up and be safe and sound, let there be no more wounds._" As Michelle sang, it happened. Skips immediately healed, much to the astonishment of everyone there.

"Whoa! That... was... awesome!" said Rigby.

"Yeah, Michelle, that was really cool. How did you do that?" asked Mordecai.

"Look, I did it, it's done, now let's move on," said Michelle.

"Michelle, why didn't you ever say anything? I mean, your voice was really rad," commented Renae.

"I wasn't lying when I said I was mute. Death removed my voice upon my request since, as you just saw, being a siren is dangerous. I caused more harm than good with my voice, so I decided on a way I could remove my voice from the equation altogether. I'm glad Death gave it back to me to use to defeat Angelica, but I don't intend on using it ever again. As soon as possible, I'm having Death take it back... it's just too dangerous for me to sing with my 'talent,' " said Michelle._  
_

"Aw, come on, Michelle, please keep your voice. Please, please, _please_?" asked Renae. To seal the deal, she gave big puppy-dog eyes and put her hands up in a beg/pout position.

"No, Renae, it's just too dangerous. I'm capable of too much," said Michelle. "I mean, look at this: _I like to stop and think so that is why I take a drink._" Upon finishing her song, a glass of water appeared in her hand and she took a sip from it.

"That's so cool," said Renae.

"It's cool now, but what if my emotions get overpowered? When that happens, I get more powerful and more dangerous as a result. It is a great burden to be a siren, being able to summon anything with song."

"Michelle is right. Unless I'm mistaken, what we saw today was only a sample of what a siren is capable of. A power like that needs to be taken care of responsibly," said Skips.

"I prefer not to have it at all. When I have it, I become one of the most powerful beings in the universe. I don't want that... not all the time. I just want some days where I can be _normal,_" said Michelle.

"So, normal means you have to give up your voice? Dude, that is lame," said Renae.

"I'm afraid unless I am convinced otherwise, I'm giving my voice back to Death," said Michelle.

"I believe that will have to wait," came a voice. Everyone turned and there stood Death. "Angelica has challenged you to a karaoke night with you and the park against her and some of our friends."

"I refuse," said Michelle.

"I'm afraid you can't refuse. You see, there's... there's something going on and I'm having some trouble with one of my souls lately. I know you were personally there when that soul died, so I need you to put her at peace. This is regardless of your winning or losing," said Death.

"Then what are the stakes?" asked Michelle.

"Well, the place my wife picked happens to be a place eight out of ten of you are banned from. So... if you win, the ban is revoked and we pay your bill and ours. If _we_ win, however... the souls of your friends are mine and you shall be my personal slave all throughout eternity... the very thing you didn't want in the first place," said Death. Michelle shivered slightly at the coldness of Death being near. "So, do we have a deal?" he asked, extending his hand.

Michelle narrowed her eyes in determination before grasping Death's hand. "What of my voice?"

"Your voice is negotiable, dearie." Michelle narrowed her eyes before shaking the hand in her grasp.

"Deal," said Michelle.

"All right, then... see you blokes at eight o' clock tonight. Don't get stage fright." He laughed as he disappeared in a cloud of green smoke and souls.

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**Intenseness! So, what do you think will happen next? (Besides the karaoke competition, of course.) Please keep reading and reviewing to find out, thanks :)**


	2. Chapter 2: The Fear

Chapter 2: The Fear

When Death vanished, Michelle assumed a determined look and headed in the direction of her bus. Benson stopped her, "Wait, where are you going?"

"I need to calm my nerves. I need to get in the right mindset before even thinking about going tonight," replied Michelle.

"We need to practice though," said Benson.

"Practice won't be worth anything if my mind isn't in the right place. I'll join you in about an hour, but right now, I need time to myself," said Michelle. Making that final statement, she walked off.

While everyone else on the park staff worked on strategy and perfecting their musical talents, Michelle was in her bus trying to calm down. "I swear, he still scares me. Not as much as another does, but pretty good," she said to herself. "Why did I even agree to this anyway? Who knows who Death is going to bring to the playing field. I can deal with Angelica, but if he who scares me more than Death is there... I don't know what I'll do." Michelle started getting worked up and panicked. She took a few deep breaths to calm down. "It's all right... everything's fine." She slowed her breathing and she gradually felt better.

Michelle emerged from her bus 20 minutes after she had entered. She had psyched herself up and was ready for practice rounds with the rest of the park staff. She found them in Skip's garage playing instruments and testing their vocals. Renae was the first to notice Michelle's appearance. "Hey, I thought I heard your quiet footsteps. Come in, you're just in time!" she said.

"All right," said Michelle. "Can I get everyone's attention, please?" She paused until everyone made eye contact with her. "Thank you. Um, I would first of all like to say that I'm sorry for what I've gotten you all into. Death and I have a history and I'm sure he's just looking for an excuse to get my soul, but I'm the type of person that won't go down without a fight. I hate losing and I relish winning. I think we can beat any opponent he puts before us. I am not the least bit intimidated with him or Angelica and you guys shouldn't be either. So... let's see what you got."

They each showed Michelle their talents, both instrumentally and vocally. While she felt unsure about their vocal skills at first, as practice went on, it got better. It wasn't anything she thought was winning material, but she hid what she thought and told them they were doing well.

8 o'clock was fast approaching, so the park staff headed for the karaoke place that eight out of ten of them were banned from: Carrey O' Key's karaoke bar. When they pulled up, Michelle posed the question: "So, since the rest of the park staff was here before Thomas was, does that mean you're the 8th one banned, Renae?"

"Yeah, but that's only because they couldn't handle the fullness of Renae," replied Renae.

"Some days, I'm not sure I can take it either," Michelle replied in joking.

"Stop talking! You're supposed to be singing tonight, remember?"

"Oh, I remember. I remember all too well." Michelle looked serious, but she soon broke out laughing. "I'm sorry, I can't stand being serious for too long. It's not in my personality. Anyways, let's go in, and whatever happens, let's just give it our all."

Everyone got out of Skip's van and they were really pumped. They were sure that they could take on all-comers. Of course, then they had to walk in the door and see their competition.

At a booth closer to the stage, right next to the booth that was reserved for the park staff, Death and his gang were there. Along with him was his wife, Angelica, the Guardians of Eternal Youth (all four of them), Gary, the guardians' chaperone, the wizard, the God of Basketball, and someone whom only Michelle was acquainted. Upon seeing the tenth member of the table, Michelle gasped and immediately went pale.

"A-A-A..." Michelle stammered. She was shaking from head to toe.

The tenth member of the table, a robin in a striking black suit and red cravat, stood and went over to the under-dressed park staff. He bowed to them and said, "It is a pleasure finally meeting all of you in person, I've heard so much from Death already, but I look forward to learning more." He went over to the stricken-with-fear Michelle and kissed her hand. "It is always a pleasure seeing you, my little... _Michelle._" He smiled a wide, white smile that seemed to strike more fear into Michelle. "Well? Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends?"

"They're hardly friends, they're co-workers. If Death suggested friendship, he was sorely mistaken," said Michelle defensively.

"Ah, of course, but..." he said. There was an awkward pause and Michelle gulped before gaining back enough courage to speak again.

"Adam, this is the park staff: Benson, the manager; the groundskeepers: Skips, Mitch, High-Five Ghost, Mordecai, and Rigby; the park overseer, Pops; Thomas, the intern; and, finally, my acquaintance of five years, Renae," introduced Michelle. After each introduction, Adam shook their hands.

Adam got close to Michelle and she flinched. Adam smiled. "Don't worry, babe, I'm not up to anything... _yet_," he whispered. Aloud, he said, "Well, it was a pleasure meeting all of you, especially you, Skips. I have heard much... but I won't get into that. This is a friendly competition for money and souls and I am merely a happy participator in this game. A game, which I am sure, that Michelle will not lose if I know her, but she should not win either. If she wins, she will find a most... _disastrous _fate awaiting her on night's end. Happy singing and good evening to you all." He gave a sweeping bow and returned to his table. The park staff got seated at the other table and Michelle was still a wreck.

"Are you okay, Michelle?" asked Benson.

"I'm fine... I just... I just _really _hoped he wouldn't be here," Michelle replied. She was visibly shaking and looked beyond scared.

"Hey, thick or thin, we'll be with you," said Renae. She patted Michelle's hand encouragingly, but it didn't seem to help matters. The tears Michelle had been fighting back began falling.

"That's nice, Renae, but it would help if I didn't have such an intense scelerophobia," said Michelle shakily.

Renae took out her phone and searched the phobia. "Scelerophobia... oh, the fear of bad men," Renae clarified.

"Uh huh," Michelle sniffed.

"Hey, it'll be okay, Michelle. We've fought Death and won before. You've got nothing to worry about," said Skips.

"I have handled Death before as well. He's one of my ex-boyfriends, in fact. Him I am afraid of, yes, but I can handle him. The one I truly fear is the smooth talking Adam, my first husband. He has, since our separation, developed something inside of him that makes me very afraid for not just my safety, but also the safety of the people around me. He has always gone after the people I cared for most... that is the reason why I tried to mask our closeness. If he gets even the inkling of an idea that I care for one of you deeply, he will stop at nothing until you're dead and that's just how he works," said Michelle, all the while shaking.

"An ex-boyfriend and an ex-husband? How old are you? OW!" Rigby posed his questions, but was soon silenced by a hit from Mordecai.

"I'm a lot older than you think," said Michelle.

"Oh, come on, you can't be any older than 23 or 25," said Skips.

"And you can't be any older than 38 or 40, yet here we are," said Michelle. She and Skips shared a stare-down in which they tried to figure each other out, but the voice of Carrey O' Key at the mike interrupted their thoughts.

"We have a special treat for you tonight, ladies and gents. Two teams of ten are going to be in a sing-off. 18 of them are normal people, but two women are sirens, and sirens, as you may or may not know, have magic in their voices. They can manipulate their environment as they sing, making them practically omnipotent when singing," Mr. Carrey O' Key began. Michelle scoffed at this as the man continued. "I present to you the two teams: the Magical Elements..." he pointed and a spotlight came over the magical group, who waved and smiled. "And the Park Pouncers." A spotlight came over the park staff and Michelle shook her head and smiled.

"Well, son of a gun, the man read my mind," said Michelle. She got a smiling wink from Death and she felt a blush rise to her cheeks, despite their shaky past.

The announcer continued, "Now, here's what's on the line: If the Park Pouncers win, they get their bill paid in full and the ones who were banned from here no longer will be." He seemed upset at the second condition, but continued, "If the Magical Elements win, however, they get the souls of the Park Pouncers." The crowd oohed in anticipation. "May the two sirens please come onto the stage so that I may explain the rules." It was an announcement more than a request. Michelle and Angelica both stood up and headed for the stage. They came on from opposing sides of the stage, but the tenseness between the two was enough that it made them seem closer.

Mr. Carrey O' Key went on, "Now, here are the conditions of the competition: there will be three rounds. In the first round, it will be completely individual singing. No help from the team. In the second round, of the nine non-sirens on the team, three shall be selected to do a duet with the siren of their team. In the third and final round, there will be a group song.

"The rules are as follows: No interfering with the opposing team. That means no distractions and no foul-play. Each team shall politely applaud their opposing team and express fair play at all times. There shall be no attempts made against any opposing team-members life, nor limb, nor pride so long as the competition runs. Am I understood?" He turned to the two sirens and even though the two were staring daggers at each other, they nodded their assent. "Good, now, shake hands and let's begin!" Michelle and Angelica coldly and quickly shook hands. They went off of the stage and waited for the announcer to continue.

The night went on with both teams playing strong and hard. There didn't seem to be a clear-cut winner or loser. Michelle wound up doing a duet with Mordecai, Benson, and Skips. Angelica wound up doing a duet with Death, Archibald (one of the guardians) and Gary. The night was going smoothly for both sides.

"Well, we've had some really good talent up here tonight, folks, but there's still one more round of competition to go. The Magical Elements are up first with the song: 'That's Death,' written by Miss Angelica, the siren," announced Carrey O' Key. Applauding was heard as the team came onto the stage.

Angelica went over to the side mike and Death assumed the main mike. Michelle gulped as the music for the song began. "Ooh... ooh... ooh..." Angelica harmonized.

"I know I've been a bad man..." sang Death.

"Been a bad man..." echoed Angelica.

"But you know that I do what I can..."

"Do what you can..."

"It's my living, it's my life, and frankly, that's death..."

"That's death... ooh..."

"I'm the one who steals your breath, baby..."

"Steals my breath right away..."

"And I know I'm not perfect, but honey, you need me..."

"I _need _you..."

"As much as water hydrates you and life takes you away..."

"Takes me away..."

"You know I'll be comin' round some day..."

"Ooh, ah..."

"It's my living, it's my life, and frankly, that's death..."

"That's death... ooh..."

"I'm the one who steals your breath, baby..."

"Steals my breath right away..."

"You know, baby, like the plague, like the bug... I'm your drug..."

"Ooh..."

"You can't miss me, baby, kiss me..."

"Ooh..."

"Let me show ya what I'm all about, baby..."

"Ooh, ah..."

"It's my living, it's my life, and frankly, that's death..."

"That's death... ooh..."

"I'm the one who steals your breath away, baby..."

"Steals my breath right away..."

"And you know that I'll be comin' round... some... day..."

"Please come around some day..."

The song finished and everyone applauded. Michelle was wide-eyed and astonished at their performance. It sounded so much like an old-time song, yet it was entirely original and Michelle had to give them props for that.

"All right, up next is the Park Pouncers. Their song is called 'Living With and Without You,' written by Ms. Michelle, the other siren. Give them a round of applause," said Mr. Carrey O' Key after his announcement.

The park staff came onto the stage and Michelle went behind the main mike. Skips sat beside her since the main instrument in the song was a bass. Michelle closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and took the plunge.

"I was born to a simple life," Michelle began. "My heart was young and pure and I knew how to feel... but those days are gone..." She paused, letting the bass play a moment before continuing.

"On the first day I saw you, I was dressing up my friend for a prom date with you... I wish it had been me, yeah, I wish it had been me... but those days are gone... gone like my young and pure heart. I wish I could go back, go back, go back, but I can't. I wish I could get up the nerve, I shoulda had the nerve, yeah. Now I'm living with and without you... I'm living here, but you don't see me. I wish I was with you. I'm living with and without you." The bass played some more, along with a few riffs from an electric guitar by Mordecai. Benson was playing the drums softly since after the first pause.

"I never got the nerve... mmm... and it _hurts _so bad. It _hurts _so bad." Another pause.

"On the next time I saw you, you were feeling low. Your prom date was cruelly wrenched from you by that cruel hand of fate. You looked like you hurt so bad... mmm... so _very_ bad. I saw you take your life in a new direction and I thought I had a chance, but I never got up the nerve. I wish I got up the nerve... mmm... I wish I could go back, go back, go back, but I can't. I wish I could get up the nerve, I shoulda had the nerve, yeah. Now I'm living with and without you... I'm living here, but you don't see me. I wish I was with you. I'm living with and without you." Another pause as the music increased in intensity.

"Now I'm closer than I've ever been before. I've had this crush for what feels like 200 years... I'm tired of all these tears... tired of all of this pain... I got nothing left to lose or gain, all I've got in my mind is you." The music went quieter again.

"You're right in front of me and here's my chance to tell you... I wish I could go back, go back, go back, but I can't. I wish I could get up the nerve, I shoulda had the nerve, yeah. Now I'm living with and without you... I'm living here, but you don't see me. I wish I was with you! I'm living with and without you, yeah... I'm living with and without you, yeah... I hope you'll finally see me." The song finished and the crowd was in an uproar. The raw emotion that came from the song was unlike the one that came from "That's Death." Angelica's song had a flirty air to it and was light with humor, but Michelle's song was sad love-sickness. It was something the crowd connected with well and Michelle smiled. The Park Pouncers left the stage and Mr. Carrey O' Key came back on.

"Well, folks, you heard it here first. Now, at your tables are paper ballots. Write in your vote and put it in the box. Who will it be? The Magical Elements with their song, 'That's Death' or the Park Pouncers with their song, 'Living With and Without You.' The votes begin now," said Mr. O' Key.

For the next five minutes, everyone, even the team members themselves, cast their votes for which team performed better. Both songs were great, but only one could win. After a moment, everyone was done voting and Mr. O' Key gathered the boxes with the help of his bouncer. They went into the back room to count the votes and the wait began.

Death came up to Michelle's table and said, "Don't worry, they'll count fair or they'll have their deadlines moved up."

"That's nice, Death, but you don't need to extend pleasantries with me," said Michelle.

"Well, I like to. Despite what happened between us, you're still the same woman you were when we broke up and I'm still the same man," said Death.

Michelle was silent a moment and Death was about to head back to his table when he heard Michelle say, "Thank you." Death looked back in surprise and smiled. Michelle hid her face to hide her blush, but it was already apparent. Renae opened her mouth to say something, but Michelle interrupted with: "No, I don't want to talk about it right now."

Ten minutes passed and Mr. Carrey O' Key and his bouncer came out with a single piece of paper. On that piece of paper, everyone assumed, were the results of the count. Everyone waited with bated breath and anticipation. Mr. O' Key came up to the mike. "All right, after a count and a re-count, we have come to a winner. The winner of the singing competition with 98 votes to 2 is..." Everyone leaned further in their seats and waited expectantly for the answer. "The Park Pouncers." There was little enthusiasm in his voice, leading Michelle to wonder what the remaining seven banned had done to deserve such disdain. Putting that aside though, she joined her team to receive a trophy in their honor. Angelica screamed in frustration and immediately left the building. The remainder of the Magical Elements came onto the stage.

"Congratulations to all of you, but I think most of the thanks goes to Michelle. I don't think you lot could have won without her," said Death. He extended a hand to Michelle and she happily took it. They shared a mutual look as the rest of the team members exchanged handshakes and congratulations. It was, after all, a fair win.

"Hey, who do you figure those two votes were?" asked Renae mockingly.

"Actually, one of the votes was mine," said Michelle.

"WHAT?!" nearly everyone said.

"Well, it was a good song and I had to give credit where credit was due. Besides, I never did feel right about voting for myself in competitions," said Michelle.

"Then, who was the other vote?" asked Renae.

"That would be Angelica," said Death.

"Sorry about how things turned out," said Michelle.

"Eh, that's all right. I may get a good sound nagging from my wife for the next week, but it was well worth it to see and hear you again tonight, Michelle," said Death.

"Thank you, Death. That means a lot coming from you." Michelle smiled and Death returned it.

The Magical Elements started heading for the door, but there was one who lingered. "Oy, Adam, are you coming or not?" asked Death. Adam didn't answer, he just stayed behind. Michelle gained eye contact with the red bird and knew trouble was afoot.

"I have one more thing I need to impart upon Ms. Michelle before I go," said Adam. He got close to Michelle and gazed deeply into her eyes. She was fearful and her breathing was starting to pick up again. Michelle waited, rooted to the spot and unsure of what Adam would do. Finally, Adam made his move by seizing Michelle in his arms and shoving his mouth into hers. She struggled to break free, but his grip was too strong.

"Adam, stop!" said Death. He ran forward just in time for Adam to finish the kiss and drop Michelle on the ground. She lay there, paralyzed in shock and fear. "What did you just give her?" Death raised a fist to Adam, but Adam was calm in his reply.

"I didn't give her anything. I only heightened what she already had. I give diseases _and _vices. Remember?" asked Adam. To Michelle, he said, "I told you your heart would be your undoing." He laughed as he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Death knelt beside Michelle and looked her over.

"What is it, Death? What's wrong with her?" asked Renae worriedly.

"I haven't seen a case like this in a while. It might very well end her life soon," said Death.

"What? _What?_" asked Renae insistently.

"Her condition may fluctuate from day to day, but unless someone can be good to her, she's going to die of a broken heart," said Death.

"What?! A broken heart? That's impossible," Benson scoffed.

"Actually, it's very possible. I've seen a case like this before, long ago. A guy I knew fell in love with a married woman. He was so obsessed with her that he wouldn't be with any other woman except her. When she didn't divorce her husband and rejected him to his face, he broke and just..." said Skips. No one needed to hear the last word to know what it was.

"So, how do we fix it?" asked Renae.

"We have to find out who she's in love with. If that person feels the same feelings back, there's a chance that she may live," said Skips.

"There is another option," said Death.

"What is that?" asked Skips.

"She could fall in love with someone else during her period of heartache," replied Death.

"And you think she would go back to you?" asked Skips skeptically.

"Hey, stranger things have happened... seriously though, take good care of her. She deserves so much... so much that people haven't or weren't willing to give her." On those last words, Death left the building. As for everyone left, Michelle was just lying on the floor shaking. Skips picked her up bridal style and carried her back to the van. It was a unanimous decision by everyone that they would make sure she was well taken care of and that they would find out who her heart yearned for the most.

* * *

**Okay, so there's that. What did you guys think? Good, bad, so-so? I personally liked the angles being used here. I don't think anyone has written something with Death having this big of a part before. Twists and turns? I think so! I hope you guys liked the songs I wrote. I also hope you guys return for the next chapter, because I'm not done yet. Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :) **


	3. Chapter 3: The Hand

Chapter 3: The Hand

The van puttered slowly along and Michelle only awoke when the van came to a full stop at the house. She got up slowly and groaned painfully. As she sat up, she noticed she was in the passenger seat in the van. Before she could think on much else, Skips spoke to her. "You okay?" he asked her.

Michelle looked at him and saw the same hard look he usually had on his face. She could have sworn she saw concern in his stoic features though. "I'm fine," she replied.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah... I just need some sleep... or something." Michelle sounded really sad, but Skips didn't pry further.

When they got out of the van, Michelle started walking toward her bus with Renae, but a green portal halted the procession. Death appeared out of the portal on his bike and Michelle groaned. _Now what? _she thought. Death answered her unspoken question: "Michelle, if you go back in your mind to our wager, it was agreed you would help me with a spirit."

"Oh... that," said Michelle. "Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"I'd rather you come now," said Death.

Michelle groaned and said dejectedly, "Fine." She got on the back of Death's bike. She declined his invitation to hang onto him, saying she'd rather hang onto the bike.

When they got through the portal, they came to a foggy place with tall grass. Death parked his bike and got up. He extended a hand to help Michelle up, but she declined by getting up herself. "All right; the place is close, but I didn't want to run into the place with the bike," said Death.

"Understood," said Michelle. They walked on into the fog. From what little Michelle could make out, it was a crowded forest. There were no sounds to be made out except for the sounds of their footsteps.

As they went on, the fog cleared a little and a big building could be made out. Michelle squinted at the place, trying to place it. "Do you remember this place, Michelle?" asked Death.

"Oh... my... this is..." said Michelle.

"Yep," Death replied.

"Wow... they really let it go."

"The year she died was the last year the school ran... but, of course, you wouldn't know that. Would you, Michelle?"

"Wait, we're not here to see _her, _are we?

Not answering her question, Death instead pointed and said, "Look."

Where Death pointed was toward the school. There was a ghost that looked like a young woman in older clothes, and fancy clothes at that. She looked as if she was ready for a dance, but her translucent form betrayed the fact that she had died during that dance.

"Nope. I'm not doing it. Sorry," said Michelle.

"Aw, come on, Michelle. She won't come to the Underworld where she belongs because she keeps saying she has to tell you something," said Death.

"Ugh, fine," said Michelle. She walked toward the ghost of the young woman. When she approached, the girl looked up and smiled joyfully.

"You're here at last," said the girl.

"Yeah, whatever, just tell me what you want to tell me so that I can go," said Michelle.

"You don't sound very happy to see me... and I understand why."

"No, you don't. If you did, your last day would have never happened. Why'd you have to fall in love with _him_ of all people?"

"I didn't know you liked him. Besides, it wasn't like you were doing anything about your feelings except bottling them up."

"It's the only way I won't get hurt. I've been in love with him for too long to take a rejection from him. I need him to like me first, then I'll confess. Until then, I'm keeping my mouth shut."

"E, you know that's not healthy for you. I'm surprised you haven't told him a long time ago."

"I'm working up to it... but then again, it's not like it matters anyway. Are we even meant to be together, him and I?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you tonight. Before I died, I had a dream that you need to hear, E."

Michelle shifted, uncertain. "Okay," she said.

The girl continued, "In my dream, there were three people: you, me, and him. Between him and I were three threads intertwined. Two of those threads were red and the one thread was black. I took that to mean that we loved each other, but that something horrible would happen to one of us very soon."

"Good deduction, considering as how you're dead and all," Michelle scoffed.

"That was why I saved him though." Michelle was quiet at that. "Of course, you probably didn't know that."

"I did, I'm just so consumed with jealousy over you that I tend to forget. So many years later and you're still the only one he loves." Michelle was quiet a moment. Then she said, "Well, go ahead, where do I come in in your dream?"

The girl smiled and continued, "Between you and him were two red threads and one white thread, all intertwined, and the white thread was incredibly bright. I didn't know precisely what it meant, but I thought it might mean true love and that you'll both live." Michelle's eyes widened and she was speechless again. "Think on what I have said, E, because the longer you wait, the more it will hurt you. If you tell him, you'll feel a lot better."

"Not if he says it's not the same with him. As I've said, he's still crazy for you."

"Put your jealousy aside and at least talk to him. You don't have to tell him yet if you don't want to, but promise me you'll talk to him at least. Then, I will leave peacefully."

"All right, D, I'll talk to him."

"Good." To Death, the girl said, "I am ready now."

"About time," said Death. He took the girl and she boarded the back of his bike.

"It's all right, I know the way from here," said Michelle.

"I can give you a ride, you know," said Death. His bike had plenty of room for another passenger, living or otherwise.

"No, thank you. One ride is enough," said Michelle, even though she might have been persuaded otherwise.

"Suit yourself, then," said Death as he rode away with the girl in tow.

Michelle sighed and began the trek home. By the time she made it back to the park house, it was dawn and she was beyond tired. She sighed deeply before finding a small stone to begin kicking. She kept kicking it along absent-mindedly until she reached the park house steps. She sighed again and plunked down on the steps, feeling sorry for herself. She picked up a stick and started tracing it in the dirt.

"Why'd he have to pick her instead of me?" she asked. "Well, because you didn't talk soon enough. You just keep standing there like some idiot making up excuses. What's so hard about telling him you like him?!" She threw the stick into the tree line, frustrated with herself. "Now, my life has become jealousy and heartache." She scoffed and kicked at the dirt.

Then, an idea struck her. She got up and made her way into the park house. In the hall next to the stairs was her upright piano. It was something she treasured very highly in her life since it was the only thing she had left from her parents. She regretted letting Renae ride it through the park on their first day. She opened the key cover and hovered her fingers over the keys. She hesitated only a moment. It was still rather early to awaken anyone, but her grief was such a big part of her heart at the moment that she didn't really care. She waved a hand, scoffing, "Eh, I'll make them breakfast to make it up to them for waking them up so early." She nodded, decision made. Her fingers hovered over the keys again and finally began moving. The melody was sad and aching: a perfect reflection of Michelle's heart.

Michelle was right when she thought she would wake the others in the house. She heard footsteps come down the stairs, but she was already so into her music that she didn't care. She didn't want to stop until the pain went away. Her fingers were already moving of their own volition. Tears fell steadily and calmly from her eyes. She wouldn't sob. Not today.

Michelle heard that the footsteps had stopped. It appeared to her that they were listening to her play. She kept playing until she finally reached the point where she wasn't as sad anymore. She then switched the tone of the song to a happier, lighter one. It was the mirrored opposite of the tone she was playing before. Whereas the first one made you want to weep, this tone made you want to laugh for joy. When she was satisfied, she stopped playing and was received with applause.

"Good show! Jolly good show!" exclaimed Pops happily. Mordecai and Rigby were also there clapping. Michelle smiled.

"Wow, Michelle, where'd you learn to play like that?" asked Mordecai.

"I've been playing for a very long time. I don't remember a time I wasn't playing. My father had taught me from when I was very young. You could say I had a knack for it," said Michelle. She looked distant for a moment before she continued, "Well, I think it is well within my rights to make it up to you boys in any way I see fit. So, I choose to make you breakfast to make up for getting you up so early." She got up and started heading for the kitchen. The boys followed.

"Aw, naw, you don't have to worry about it," said Mordecai.

"Yeah, it was really cool," said Rigby.

"I thank you for your compliments, but I'm afraid I must insist. It's the least I could do, after all," said Michelle. She had made it to the kitchen and was now looking through the cupboards. "Hmm... hang on," she said as she took out her cell phone.

Michelle had called Renae. It turns out, Renae was not a morning person, so it took three rings before a reply came across the line. Renae gave a sleepy: "Michelle, it's five in the morning, go to bed!"

"Renae, wait, don't hang up!" Michelle pleaded.

"Ugh... what?" Renae was irritable now.

"I need you to bring a few things over to the park house. I'm making breakfast."

"Why can't you make it here?"

"Ugh, Renae, just please bring me what I want."

"Okay... what do you want?"

Michelle smiled. Now she had her. "I want you to bring my white apron with the frill that looks like flowers and the waffle iron from the cupboard."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Ugh, fine." Renae hung up and Michelle hoped that Renae had caught all of that.

In a few minutes, it was confirmed that despite sleepiness, Renae had been listening. Michelle took the apron and tied it neatly around her waist. The long apron covered her so entirely that she could probably wear just it and no one would have noticed. She put the waffle iron on the counter-top and plugged it in to heat it up. She then began moving fluidly throughout the kitchen as if she had been there her whole life. She got to work on pancakes and waffles and soon the kitchen filled with the sweet aroma.

Just as she was serving pancakes, Skips walked in the door. "Oh, good morning, Skips," said Michelle pleasantly. "Won't you join us for breakfast?"

"Uh, sure," said Skips. It had been a while since someone had given him a home-cooked meal... a long while.

It wasn't long before the rest of the staff found their way into the kitchen. They all got served breakfast and Michelle was happy to serve them. _It seems everyone is early to work today, _thought Michelle.

"Mmm, these pancakes are really good, Michelle," said Benson appreciatively.

"I'm glad you like them. I have many recipes that I taught myself and spent years perfecting," said Michelle.

"Well, it was time well spent," said Benson. He smiled, but Michelle turned away as if she hadn't seen it.

"So, what's on the agenda for today, Benson?" asked Michelle.

It turned out, the agenda was pretty easy. Michelle and Renae helped Pops in the garden; Skips was tinkering on one of the carts in his garage; Muscle Man and High-Five Ghost were pulling weeds; Mordecai and Rigby were mowing the lawn; Benson was doing paperwork in his office and taking calls; Thomas was picking up trash and doing errands. It was a pretty easy day, overall.

Night fell and Michelle was more than tired. She didn't speak of the pain she felt all over her body. She was taught better than to complain. However, Renae was not taught that much restraint. "Ugh, my back is killing me! Who knew gardening would be so hard?" Renae whined.

"Chill, Renae, today wasn't that bad," said Michelle.

Renae mocked Michelle. " '_Today wasn't that bad,_' you say that about every day! Don't you ever get tired?"

"Of course I get tired, it's just..."

"What? What is it, Michelle?"

"I... I think I hear something."

"What does it sound like?" The two friends were very near their bus now and were about to go inside. Renae stood on the steps and was about ready to open the door, but she looked back at her friend curiously.

"It sounds like..." Renae's hand was on the handle. She turned the handle... "A bomb!" Michelle finished as she grabbed Renae and shielded her. What happened then was a big explosion. It sent the two friends flying. In the few moments Michelle had consciousness, she dropped Renae into a tree. Michelle landed just behind the tree, some feet away. She was knocked out and Renae was in panic mode.

"Oh, man! Oh, man!" Renae fiddled with her fingers: her number one fidget when nervous.

Fire crackled and consumed the bus in flames. There certainly wasn't any living space salvageable now. The only comfort Renae had at that moment was the fact that both she and Michelle kept their most precious belongings in fireboxes. No matter if there was a fire, flood, or yes, bomb, all of their important documents and family heirlooms would be kept safe. Losing the bus _did_ eliminate a lot of their wardrobe though. _We're homeless! _thought Renae.

Then, Renae remembered Michelle. As the fire crackled on and small explosions took place, she climbed down from the tree and went to Michelle's side. Michelle woke up, dazed, but all right. Michelle sighed, grateful that her friend was safe.

Just as Michelle was comforted though, one of the smaller explosions hit the tree. The tree was falling! Making a split-second decision, she threw Renae out of the way, but was crushed by the tree's branches.

"Oh, no!" Renae was in full-fledged panic mode now. "What do I do? What do I do?" she fiddled with her fingers manically. Then, she was struck with a clear idea: "Help! I need to get help!" She ran off, far away from the explosions, toward the park house. On her way there though, she noticed the park staff heading toward her.

"What happened, Renae? We heard an explosion," said Benson.

"Our bus got blown up!" responded Renae. The park staff gasped.

"Wait, where's Michelle?" asked Skips.

"She's stuck under a tree that fell over," replied Renae. Another collective gasp. "Please, she needs help."

"All right, Pops, call an ambulance and the fire department. I can see smoke in the distance, so there's gotta be a fire. The rest of us are going to get that tree off of her," said Benson. Pops nodded gravely and ran into the house to make the call.

Everyone else followed Renae to the scene of the disaster. She led them to the tree and backed out of the way. Skips was able to easily lift the tree, but there was a problem. "She's stuck in the branches!" said Rigby.

"Mordecai, Rigby, quick, go get the saws from the shed. We're gonna have to cut her out," said Skips.

It didn't take long for the two to get the tools and return. Mordecai, Muscle Man, and Skips worked at sawing the branches away. By the time they had her free, the fire department had arrived to extinguish the fire. The ambulance was there as well. As soon as Skips lifted Michelle free from the tree, the ambulance's gurney was at his side. He put Michelle on it and was about to follow Renae into the ambulance when he was stopped by one of the EMT's. "Sorry, there's no room," the EMT simply said. Without another word, the doors were closed and Skips was left standing there.

"Come on, we're going to the hospital," said Skips. He and the rest of the park staff went into his van and headed toward the hospital. The only member of the staff that wasn't there was Thomas, but that was only because he had college classes to attend in the morning and couldn't stay out late.

When they arrived at the hospital, they were just in time to see Michelle get carted in. Renae was following as quickly as she could. Before Michelle was rolled through the next set of doors, they heard her say, very clearly: "No more... I can't take it anymore."

All that was left for the park staff to do was sit and wait for news. They had only known Michelle and Renae a few days, yet they felt like part of the family already. Sure, the park wasn't a blood family, but they were a family of friends who stuck together... no matter what.

It wasn't very long after Michelle was taken through the other doors that Renae came walking out, looking rather sulky. She took a seat on one of the chairs across from the park employees. She looked thoughtful a moment before she looked at Skips straight on and said, "This has to stop. I may have only known Michelle for five years, but there's something that's bothering her. I never knew what it was and I still don't... but I've seen her look at you when she thinks no one else is noticing. I think she thinks you can help her."

Before anything else could be said, a doctor came through and Renae stood up and looked at him. They all looked at him expectantly to find out what his news was. "I'm afraid your friend Michelle is in an uneasy state. She's feverish and she keeps saying: 'I can't die yet, I can't die yet.' We also think she may be hallucinating. She looked in the window once and refuses to look again, claiming she saw someone named Adam in the window. Her room is on the third floor. There is no way anyone could climb the walls. They'd need to be superhuman!" The doctor said.

"Yeah, or _under_-human..." muttered Renae.

Just then, a younger guy, presumably a nurse, ran up behind the doctor. He whispered something in his ear and he nodded. "Which of you here is called Skips?" asked the doctor.

"That would be me," said Skips, standing up.

"She's asking for you," said the doctor.

"Told you," said Renae. "Go on." Skips took a deep breath and nodded. He followed the doctor and nurse beyond the set of double doors, up a few floors, and into Michelle's room.

Michelle was in a hospital bed, tucked tightly in the sheets and shivering. Skips pulled up a chair and sat down by her side. He looked at her and his heart felt heavy at seeing her. She looked really pale and sweat was making its way down her head. She opened her eyes and noticed Skips there. "T-take my hand," Michelle requested. She offered her hand and, out of sympathy for her suffering, he took her hand in his. When he did, she took a deep breath and stopped shivering. She seemed more at peace now. "All right. I think the crisis has been averted. We can go home now," she said.

"It's remarkable. Just moments ago, she was deathly sick!" The doctor was stunned.

"Hey, I was sick, now I'm better, so let's move on. I just wanna go home," said Michelle. She gripped Skips's hand tighter as she said this.

"Michelle, don't you remember what happened?" asked Skips.

"Yeah, the bus blew up. It was probably Adam's design that it did so... or the mob. I don't really know. I just... I want to lay down and sleep in someplace I know I'll be safe. If you go, Skips, then here isn't it," said Michelle.

"Well... I can stay here until you fall asleep if that'll make you feel better," said Skips.

"All night, Skips."

"All night?!"

"Please, Skips... I don't feel safe right now. I know it's selfish of me to ask, but I need you to protect me. Whoever planted the bomb isn't through with me yet. They want me to suffer... but I can't suffer if I am protected."

"All right, I'll stay."

"Thank you, Skips. I promise you that I'll repay you for this. Whatever you want, I'll do it... if it's within reason, of course."

Skips laughed. "I'm sure I won't need you to."

Michelle smiled and was relieved at having a protector by her side. As she fell asleep, she never let go of Skips's hand. After all, that hand was the hand that held her safely. As long as she was holding his hand, she felt at home.

* * *

**Okay then... what do you guys think? Please review and tell me what you think shall happen next. Is there something more there than Michelle cares to reveal? Only I know ;) Please keep reading and reviewing, I appreciate the attention, guys, so thanks :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Silence

Chapter 4: The Silence

Michelle awoke the following morning with a heavy heart. She looked to her side and saw Skips still holding her hand and she was comforted slightly, but she knew that it wouldn't be enough. _It's going to take more than his hand to heal the pain I've had to endure for so long, _Michelle thought sadly. Michelle wouldn't say anything though. She wouldn't give any indication that anything was wrong. She would smile and act like everything was working her way. That always worked for her in the past. Of course, as soon as she eased the pain in her heart by pretending to be happy, she'd find herself with another man. Time would pass and she would be alone and the cycle would begin again. _I don't want the cycle to continue, but I also don't want to worry anyone. What do I do? _Michelle thought.

As Michelle's worried thoughts swirled around her head, she felt the yeti by her side shift in his sleep. She smiled thoughtfully. _One step at a time. _The words of Michelle's father came into her head. He would always tell her 'One step at a time.' Michelle smiled and decided to break the cycle and do the one thing she had feared doing all this time. "Skips... Skips... wake up," said Michelle, shaking the yeti softly._  
_

"Huh? What? Is something wrong, Michelle?" asked Skips, worry in his voice. _Wait, why did that come out like that? I barely know her and I'm worried for her, _thought Skips.

"No, no, Skips, nothing's wrong. It's just that I have something to tell you," she said. Skips was so compelled by her tone that he waited silently for what she had to say. This took Michelle off the trail of confidence. Her words were no longer coming as easy as she had planned. "Uh... well... you see I... you..." Michelle sighed heavily, feeling defeated. She took a deep breath and let out words she hadn't wanted to say, but were fitting enough to satisfy her for the moment. "Could you please ask the doctor if I can go home?"

"Where would you stay?" Skips wanted to offer his home, but that seemed too much. Michelle, on the other hand, wished he had asked.

"I don't know, Skips... I'm not the type to take anything unless offered."

Skips thought a moment. Then, he smiled when the idea came to him. "Wait, maybe there _is_ a place for you and Renae to stay."

"What did you have in mind?"

"The park house has a spare room. I'm sure if I talked to Pops and Benson that they'd let you stay there until you found another place."

"That'd be great, Skips!" She wrapped her arms around his neck in an embrace. Skips was shocked at first, but just as he was about to return it, Michelle pulled away sheepishly. "I'm sorry, that was overstepping."

"Eh, it's fine." He smiled and got up to leave.

"Skips..."

"Yeah, Michelle?"

Michelle held her tongue again. Instead she said, "Thank you."

"No problem." With that, he left and Michelle was alone.

Michelle was soon released from the hospital with a clean bill of health (amazingly). Skips, Renae, and she headed back to the park to find some strange things going on. Apparently, Mr. Maellard had heard about the explosion of the bus and was making sure this would not cause him bad publicity. When he found out Michelle and Renae were fine, he was in a better mood.

"Well, Michelle, I'm glad you and your friend are all right. If you have any more problems like this, be sure to give me a call," said Mr. Maellard, shaking Michelle's hand.

"You're definitely on the list of will-call should there be any more problems," said Michelle with a smile.

"Good; now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go. I have a meeting I need to attend." With these parting words, Mr. Maellard left.

"Yeah, he's totally not on the top end of the list," said Michelle.

"Michelle! What are you doing back so soon?" asked Benson.

"Oh, well, I guess I was just in a state of shock... or something. Anyway, it was temporary and I sustained no injuries. Skips said something about a place where Renae and I could stay?" Michelle asked.

"Oh, yes, yes, the spare room upstairs in the park house has been outfitted with temporary furnishings until you can get something better," said Pops. He waved his hand and Renae and Michelle followed him into the house. It was only when they stepped into the spare room and Michelle looked behind her that she noticed the rest of the staff had followed as well.

"Awesome! Sleeping bags! It'll be like camping indoors!" said Renae excitedly. Michelle shuddered. "What?"

"Nothing, I just... had a few bad experiences with camping," Michelle replied.

"You're just being paranoid again. It'll be fine," said Renae reassuringly.

"Fine," said Michelle.

"We hope you two are comfortable. Mordecai and Rigby are in one room down the hall and I'm in another room down the hall," said Pops. Then, everyone parted except Skips, who remained.

"Yes, Skips?" asked Michelle.

"So, uh, what are you two going to do now? Benson thought you two would be gone longer, so he gave you both the day off," said Skips.

"Are you working?" asked Michelle.

"I'll probably see if Benson has something for me to do, why?"

"I hope you won't think it weird if I ask if I could watch you work."

"Why would you want to watch me work? It's not very exciting, I'm sure."

"Well, I could keep you company, get things for you that you might need, you know, just be there."

"I'm not sure I-"

"Please, Skips? I promise I won't get in your way and you can believe me when I say that because I don't promise very often."

"Well... sure! Why not?"

Michelle beamed brightly at him. "Thank you, Skips! You won't regret this!" Michelle and Skips left and Renae stayed in her room, knowing that the two could use some time together.

It turned out Benson had a job for Skips after all. One of the gardens needed to be completely redone. So, the old plants had to be taken out and replaced with new ones.

"I can see why they needed replacing, these plants look rotten," said Michelle. Skips skipped over to the garden and started examining the plants. "So, is there anything you'd like me to do?"

"Nah, just sit back and let me take care of things," said Skips.

"Oh, nonsense! You're just thinking about how I just got out of the hospital. What? Do you think I'm too feeble for this job?"

"Well, I, uh..."

"Skips, I insist."

There was a pause before Skips said, "Okay, but if it gets too much for you, just let me know."

"Believe me, Skips, I'd sooner work into a heat stroke than admit defeat. I'll be fine."

Skips and Michelle both grabbed tools for raking out the old plants. They both had gloves on for the stubborn ones that wouldn't come out by tool alone. It was slow going since some of the plants had _very _stubborn roots. Michelle eventually decided to just do it by hand and save the tools for loosening the ground.

After a little while, they were both sweating and Michelle was wishing the sun would hide behind a cloud. They had finally gotten all of the old plants out and Michelle noticed the soil was well raked. It just needed some water, then the new plants could be put in. Michelle got out of the garden and asked, "Do you want me to get the hose?"

"Nah, you look tired. You let me get the hose and you take a break," said Skips.

"It wouldn't be any trouble..."

Skips put up a hand. "I insist." Michelle was silenced with that.

"Okay, I'll just wait right here for you then." Michelle sat under a tree's shade and leaned against the sturdy trunk. She watched Skips skip off and she let her eyes droop. Before she knew what had happened, she was asleep.

Skips returned a short while later and noticed Michelle curled up asleep in the shade of the tree. "She must have been more tired than I thought because she's definitely not the lazy type." Skips shrugged after saying this and got to work on watering the soil._  
_

Michelle tossed and turned a lot in her sleep. She eventually made her way over to the damp soil and when she landed in it, she woke up. She jerked awake and looked at herself in dismay. "Well, I wasn't expecting to get _this _dirty," she said.

"Do you want me to hose you off?" asked Skips. He had been about to put the hose away, but thought better of it after seeing Michelle's predicament.

"Sure," she replied. When the water came at her, she let out a squeal. "That's really, really cold." She scrubbed the dirt off with her hands and soon, the majority of the dirt was gone. Michelle stood shivering and said, "I think after we're done planting that a shower would definitely be in order."

Then, Skips's walkie-talkie started buzzing and Mordecai's voice came from the other end: "Skips! Skips! We need your help! There's a wild bear loose in the park!"

"Yeah, Skips, it's really huge!" said Rigby.

"Okay, just tell me where you guys are and I'll get over there as quickly as I can," said Skips. Of course, Michelle was already running through the park on her way to Mordecai, Rigby, and the bear.

"We just ran past the snack bar. Hurry, Skips!" said Mordecai frantically just before the radio cut out. The silence was not a good indicator for their situation. Skips's eyes widened and he hastened to head in the direction he had been told they were going. Little did he know, Michelle was already on the heels of that bear.

"AH!" both Mordecai and Rigby screamed. They had collapsed on the ground and the bear loomed over them. It let out a roar and just before it could strike, Michelle jumped onto the bear's back and caught its throat in a choke-hold. The bear thrashed back and forth, trying to get its attacker off of its back, but Michelle wasn't letting go easy.

"Go! Go!" said Michelle, hanging on. Mordecai and Rigby took the chance and ran. They didn't go far though, just beyond the tree line. They watched as the bear stood up and tossed its head back and forth. It threw its body against several trees. Every hit made them wince because the bear was hitting Michelle dead-on. Michelle still had her hold on the bear's neck though.

Then, after what felt like forever for Michelle, the bear collapsed, belly first, onto the ground. Michelle kept her hold for a little bit, shocked by the ordeal. Then, she wrenched her arms from underneath the beast and got off of its back. She was panting hard as she came up to Mordecai and Rigby. "Are you guys all right?" asked Michelle.

"Yeah, we're fine, but, Michelle, that was amazing!" said Mordecai.

"Yeah, that was really cool how you took down that bear! Where'd you learn that?" asked Rigby.

"Oh, you know, you learn a few things when you're out and about," said Michelle.

"Uh huh," said Rigby. Apparently, Michelle's answer wasn't all that impressive.

"Well, are we gonna wait until the bear gains consciousness again or is someone going to call animal control?" asked Michelle.

"Oh, right," said Mordecai, taking out his phone and doing just that.

Just then, Skips arrived. "What happened?" he asked upon seeing the bear on the ground and everyone intact.

"Michelle totally caught the bear in a choke-hold and brought it to the ground!" said Rigby.

"You what?!" asked Skips shocked.

"Yeah, it was no big deal. I've faced bigger creatures than that and come out fine," said Michelle.

"But that bear was huge! What could be bigger than that?" asked Rigby.

"I have such a long arsenal of monster stories that it would take many volumes of books to cover them all," said Michelle.

"Animal control is on their way," said Mordecai, who had just gotten off of his phone with them.

"So, you really took down that bear by yourself?" asked Skips skeptically.

"Are you jealous, Skips?" asked Rigby. There was a pause. "Oh! You are! Skips is jealous! You jealous! You jealous! You J-E- OW!" Rigby got cut short by a punch from Mordecai.

Michelle rubbed her arm, embarrassed. "Look, if you would have rather taken it down yourself, I would have understood. I just tend to take action quickly when it comes to big creatures terrorizing others," she said sheepishly.

"It's fine..." said Skips.

"Are you sure?" asked Michelle.

"Yeah, it's fine," said Skips.

"Okay," said Michelle. Then, a cell rang and it turned out to be Michelle's. She took it out of her pocket and said, "I have to take this, so... yeah. If you'll excuse me..."

"Sure, yeah," said Skips.

"Thanks," said Michelle. She walked away as she answered her phone. Skips, Mordecai, and Rigby stood in silence for a few moments.

Skips said, "I should probably get going too. If you need anything, come and find me." He skipped off, leaving the troublesome twosome alone.

"Dude," said Mordecai.

"What?" asked Rigby.

"That was really awkward just then," said Mordecai.

Rigby scoffed. "If Skips accepted the fact that a girl taking down a bear is cool, that wouldn't have been awkward."

"No, dude, that was awkward because Skips is too prideful to let anyone else help. He wants to solve problems by himself and if anyone else does, he feels bad."

"_Oh_," Rigby said in realization. "So?"

Mordecai groaned. "Come on, it's probably nothing anyways." He walked off and Rigby followed him. The bear was picked up by animal control and, for the next few minutes, it was normal.

Over the rest of the day, there were multiple problems that arose that it was usually given upon Skips to fix, but every time, Michelle took up the reins and fixed the problems herself. Mordecai took notice of these things and was slowly coming to a conclusion. He voiced his conclusion to Rigby that night when their video game was on pause.

"Dude, I think this _is _a problem," began Mordecai.

"What do you mean?" asked Rigby.

"Skips isn't the only hero around here anymore. Now that Michelle is taking up some of the work, it's making him feel less special."

"Why should it be our problem?"

"It's our problem because Skips is our _friend_."

Rigby groaned. "Yeah, you're right... so what do we do?"

Mordecai assumed his thinker pose. After a few "hm's," he clapped his hands together. "Got it. I totally got it, dude."

"All right! So, what's the plan?" Mordecai leaned in and whispered it into Rigby's ear and Rigby's smile grew wide. "Dude! That'll totally work!"

"Yeah, it will!" They both made sounds of agreement and set to work on their plan.

It turned out, that same night the gang was going out to Cheezer's to hang out. Mordecai and Rigby got everyone except Skips and Michelle together and Mordecai laid out his plan. It was multi-phased and kind of complicated, but if it worked, it would work out well for everybody.

So, the gang all met up in Skips's van and they headed to Cheezer's. Skips and Michelle were in the front seats while the rest of the gang was in the back, rehearsing the plan one last time. Both Michelle and Skips were suspicious, but they shrugged it off.

After they arrived at Cheezer's and got their orders put in, phase one of the plan commenced. This involved everyone except Mordecai and Renae leaving so that Skips and Michelle had wing-men/women. Of course, this immediately aroused suspicion.

"Okay, what's going on here?" asked Michelle.

"Hey, chill, we just..." began Renae, but Michelle cut her off.

"This is an intervention, isn't it?" asked Michelle.

"That's kind of a harsh word..." Renae began, but Michelle gave her a look. "Okay, it's an intervention."

Michelle groaned. She took a deep breath, then sat up straight and said in the most civil manner possible, "I'm sorry I took all of those jobs, Skips, but I was feeling restless. I needed something to do. I'm used to doing a lot of work... a lot of 'big job' type of work. I realize that in doing this, I have made you feel less important, but I didn't think you'd mind so much."

"I don't. I didn't even think this was what we were going to be talking about," said Skips.

Michelle eyed him and said, "You still have a chest full of pride, don't you?"

"What do you mean 'still'? You just met me, how can you say I'm 'still' anything?" asked Skips.

Michelle was silent a moment. Her eyes moved about as if she were thinking about what was the best thing to say. She finally decided on going with her initial instinct. "You don't remember, do you?" she asked.

"Remember what?"

Michelle put up her hands. "You know what? Don't bother. If I'm so completely unmemorable as all that, then I don't think I need be here." She got up and threw her napkin on the table. She took a shaky breath and said, "Tell everyone else that I give them my kindest regards, but that I am no longer willing to be the invisible one anymore. Good night."

"Michelle..." said Renae, getting up to follow her.

"No! Don't follow me! Don't even look at me! You are not even worthy to call me your friend! You know nothing about me!" said Michelle, tears threatening to fall.

"I know plenty of things about you, Michelle."

"Name one!"

"Well... you once told me you had a job as a stripper."

"Oh ho! So it finally comes out! Well, Renae, guess what? You failed the friendship test."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I've been telling that lie for years. I'll beef it up like it's some big secret, but the truth is, I'm telling people that 'secret' to see how good the friend is at keeping it. You just now voiced it aloud for everyone to hear!" She walked off toward the door. Before she left, she got in one final word though. "Oh, and by the way, I only stripped for money once and that was for therapeutic reasons, so you can get that out of your head."

"Michelle, I'm sorry, I..."

"You probably wish I was silent again, don't you? That makes things a lot easier doesn't it? Wait, you know what? That's what I'm gonna do. From now on, I won't say another word unless I get the correct prompting and good luck with that because with any luck, you'll never see me again! Good-bye!" She slammed the door to the establishment and Renae was too afraid to follow her.

The rest of the park staff came back into the establishment. "Well, that plan sunk," said Muscle-Man.

"I don't get it! Everything was supposed to go way different from that," said Mordecai. He then looked at Skips and noticed the yeti was staring at the door in concentration. "Skips? Is everything all right?"

"She... knew me," said Skips.

"What do you mean?" asked Mordecai.

"I mean, she knew me from before," said Skips.

"Before what?" asked Benson.

"Before any of this. Before I met any of you guys. A long, long time ago..." Skips's mind went back in time and he _did _remember her.

* * *

**Well, you guys made it this far, so I'm hoping you can go a little further with me. Won't you? I hope so :) Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :D**


	5. Chapter 5: The Attempt

Chapter 5: The Attempt

Michelle had been walking pretty quickly, but as soon as the restaurant was out of sight, she broke into a run. Thunder boomed in the distance and did not help ease Michelle's already shattered emotions. She finally reached the park and stopped in front of the house. She let her head hang back and let out a long, anguished cry to the sky. This was followed by a short sob noise. Then, her anger took over and she ran over to a tree. She easily uprooted it and threw it into the distance. She did the same with another tree. Then, she took _another _tree from the ground and began smashing it. Leaves fluttered everywhere and, even though it had been going since she entered the park, Michelle finally took notice of the rain. She collapsed to her knees, let her head hang low, and her arms rest on the trunk of the tree. She sobbed.

"Maybe... maybe he'll remember me. Maybe... maybe there's still a chance..." she said between sobs. This didn't help though... she only sobbed all the harder. "There's no way. There's just no way..." More sobbing. She picked up her head, her eyes only just seeing over the roots of the tree. "I guess I'll have to accept it then. We'll never be together, so why should I keep trying?" She let out another short sob noise before getting up and trudging toward the house. She looked up at it with tearful eyes. She continued up the steps, taking in the details of her journey.

Meanwhile, the park staff had finished their meal and Michelle hadn't returned. They figured that she had just went back to the park, but why hadn't she called? "I don't like this. I've never seen her act like that," said Renae.

"Well, you've never heard her talk until recently either," came a voice. There was a collective gasp at the table. Death had entered the building in rain-soaked clothing.

"What are you doing here, Death?" asked Skips with a hint of disdain.

Death shrugged. "I just figured you might want to know about Michelle. She's going to die in a few minutes," he said.

"What?!" the table collectively said.

"How's that possible?" asked Renae.

"She's in the park kitchen as I speak, searching the cupboards and drawers... kinda delaying the inevitable, if you ask me," said Death. Skips got up and punched Death in the face. Where his anger came from so suddenly, he didn't know. "I'll let that one slide, Skips, you know why?" Skips didn't answer with anything but clenched fists and teeth. "Immortals can't die by any ordinary means, so they either have to be killed in a special way or have their immortality taken from them by the Guardians or..."

"Or what?" asked Renae nervously.

"They have to take their own lives," said Death with a wide grin. "Now, understand, Michelle is very dear to me, but immortals frustrate me beyond anything else because they refuse to let me take them. Well... that's about to change." Death laughed. "You have five minutes to save her life, providing, of course, she doesn't hesitate. Good luck." Death disappeared.

"Come on, everyone! We have a life to save," said Skips. He and the rest of the staff got in the van and sped off. There was only a small bit of hope they would make it back in time.

Michelle looked around the kitchen. She knew where they were, especially the big, sharp ones, but she was delaying it. If she was going to go out, she'd have one last memory.

Michelle zeroed in on the drawer that contained "it" and took it out. It was a kitchen knife normally used for cutting food, but tonight, it would be cutting something else. She looked at the blade and how it gleamed in the light. She ran her fingers across the flat part of the blade. _Stainless steel. I'd like to see the stain from this come out, _thought Michelle. Decidedly, she went back the same way she came until she was outside the house and in the rain.

Michelle looked at the horizon and saw her life flash before her eyes. She saw people come and people go, all in fast forward. People were born and people died. Relationships were made and broken. Life moved on, even as everything changed. _254 years alive and nothing's changed except the 'how' of things, _thought Michelle. _Oh, well..._ She looked at her blurred reflection in the blade. She didn't need to see her reflection clearly to know what was there: a sad, broken little girl. Sure, she was an anthropomorphic blue jay, but was she any different from any other girl? Certainly not.

Michelle looked at the blade one more time before thinking again. _Okay... now... how to do it? _She put the blade to her arm. _Cutting lengthwise from elbow to wrist would be a fast death... but not what I'm looking for. _She put the blade to her wrist. _No... that's slower. _She put it to her heart. She laughed internally. _How could I die this way? My heart's already in so much pain, would I even notice the blade? _She put the blade higher up... to her throat. _If I cut in just the right place, I'll die in a matter of seconds... do I really want this? _She slowly turned in a circle, looking at her surroundings one last time. Despite the ache in her heart, even she couldn't deny how quickly it was beating. _Past the point of no return... _Her breath started hitching, temporarily filling the air with the fog from it. Rain still fell. The rain was cold and there was a small, cool breeze. _Would death be like this? Cold? Or would death be a fiery, painful inferno? _She pressed the blade harder onto her neck. _I'm too much of a coward to commit suicide! _She collapsed to her knees and let out a cry of frustration and anguish, the blade still at her throat. She put both hands on the knife. Half of her wanted this and half of her didn't. _Maybe if I just close my eyes and make it quick, I won't notice it so much. _Her breathing sounded of sobs as the blade was pressed harder. A cut was coming, she need only to...

"STOP!" yelled a voice. Michelle's eyes popped open, as did her mouth, but other than that, she was quite still. Skips was running up to her with a frantic look on his face. "Michelle, don't do this," said Skips, once he was close enough to her. He got on his knees and continued. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't remember you... it's just that every time I saw you, your clothing was different... _you _were different. I had my mind on other things and... Michelle, just please don't go any further with this."

As if from out of a trance, (which wasn't far from what it was) Michelle softly said, "Skips?"

"Yes, Michelle," he said gently. "It's all right now... give me the knife."

Michelle's hands shakily loosened their grip as she handed the knife to Skips. "I... Skips..." she stuttered.

"Come on, let's go inside and talk about this." He got up and offered her his hand. With wide eyes, she took it, and rose. The attempt had been stopped. Michelle was safe.

When they got inside, Skips sat Michelle down on the couch. She had made a small cut to her throat, but nothing lethal nor large. Nonetheless, Pops got the first aid kit and Skips put antiseptic and a bandage on the cut. He inspected her further, but it wasn't long before his prying hands were gently pulled off by Michelle's hands. "Skips... I think it's time I told you something that I should have told you a long time ago," said Michelle. She took a deep breath and took the plunge. "I would like to start with the fact that I am immortal, just like you."

"Yeah, we got that much," said Renae.

Michelle paused, still hesitant to say what she needed to say. "Well... I, uh..." She gave a short, bitter laugh. "Why is this so hard?" She scratched the back of her head, trying to find courage somewhere in her ruffled feathers. "I should also tell you that the name I had before I was immortal was Evangeline."

"Wait, isn't that name _younger _than I am?" asked Skips.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Everyone thinks that Evangeline was first used by a poet in the 1800's, but really, it just wasn't being _widely _used. You see, my name was actually a compromise between my mother and father. My father wished to name me Eve and my mother wished to name me Angelina, so they decided on combining the two into the name Evangeline."

"Wouldn't that be Evangelina though?" asked Renae.

"Don't interrupt," Michelle batted her hand at the question and went on. "I was born in the winter of 1760. My father was a farmer and a woodsman. My mother had sewn quilts and clothing to sell at the market. I was born directly after my brother, who, obviously, is my fraternal twin. His name is Jay, but I won't get into why I'm referring to him in the present tense until later.

"From 1760 to 1776, I led a good, modest life. I learned how to cook and sew from my mother and I learned how to tend a farm and fix things from my father. However, in the year 1776, unbeknownst to me, my father had been searching for a suitor for me. He needed someone who could take care of me, especially since my mother had died shortly after I turned 15.

"Well, there were many fine, eligible men, but none would please me or my father. I was young, I didn't want to get into a relationship so soon. However, in the summer after I turned 18, I was married to Adam... the same Adam that was at karaoke night recently."

"So, he's immortal too!" said Renae.

"That's right," said Michelle. "Everyone who knew us called us Adam and Eve, the perfect couple. Oh, how wrong they were.

"You see, Adam was a fine gentleman. He had manners, he was well off in wealth, but he had a violent temper. I was not to find this out until after my first child was born. Adam must have had a mental problem or something because he had his mind set on having a son. If he didn't get a son, he would be most furious. Well, I didn't bear him a son, I bore him a daughter whom I named Abigail.

"Adam was quite distraught that we didn't get a son. He wanted very much to seal how like Adam and Eve we were. There certainly was no Adam in Adam though. If anything, he was the vile serpent, the trickster that ruined my day... and my daughter's.

"It came to be that five years passed and Abigail was growing into a fine young girl. She was the most adorable thing, with bright blue eyes and an innocent heart. I thought, apart from Adam's temper, that life was perfect. Little did I know how bad his temper was.

"It was spring. There was never a more beautiful day, I had thought that morning. However, my mood was dampened when I heard my daughter's screams. I dashed out of bed to her room and was just in time to see Adam inflict the final blow and drop her like a sack of worthless dirt. I remember it all so vividly. The blood. Her last look at me. Her eyes open in death. The smell of blood. Adam was breathing deeply, fists clenched. I was frightened out of my senses. Without waiting for anything else, I made a dash toward my parents house, which happened to be up the road.

"When I got to my parents house... they both lay in their bed in the same condition. Jay was nowhere to be found, but I remembered he had recently accepted an offer of business and moved out. I wasn't worried about him. I was worried for my own life.

"I went back to the house and couldn't find Adam. I took no time in putting on some clothes and packing a suitcase. I wasn't going to stay there, especially not with him, should he return. I took off my ring and lay it on the dresser. I left a note for Adam... but I doubt he ever saw it.

"As terrified as I was, I went to my daughter's room one last time and cried at her bedside. As with my parents, her eyes had been closed, respectfully. I didn't know how long I had been there, but it was getting dark by the time I finally stood and left that house for good."

"Michelle... I had no idea..." said Renae.

"There's more," said Michelle.

"More?" Renae asked painfully.

Michelle went on, "Let's see... oh, yes. It was 1783 by this time. I had found a position as a nurse in a war. So, one day, as I was fetching water for the men, I found a young man sitting against a tree looking quite pitiful. The young man was Skips, but I didn't know it at the time nor did I learn it until some time later.

"Anyway, I asked him his woe and he told me he had been turned away. He wanted to be an army doctor since his father was the same. So, I asked him to come with me and oh, what a clever disguise it was! He looked nearly like an old man and he was only... 15 at the time, I believe."

"Wait, so that makes you..." Renae counted on her fingers. "That makes Skips 246 and it makes Michelle..."

"Older, yes, we've established that. It's bad enough admitting I'm immortal, it's more shameful to admit my age," said Michelle, annoyed. "Anyway, the war went on for a short time and after it ended, I removed his make-up. He thanked me and we parted ways without so much as giving each other our names.

"In the year 1792, I saw Skips again. He was with a friend of his, whose former name I shall not reveal since he too is immortal. Ballooning was ten years old and had made its way to the ears of the two young adventurers. Skips and his friend wanted to go ballooning and I heard of their dream. So, with a little bit of work, we were able to get the balloons hand-made in two weeks, that's one week per balloon. Naturally, this was just in time for a storm. I told them to be careful and I had every right to be worried," said Michelle, casting a glare at Skips, who shrugged sheepishly.

Michelle continued, "The storm was a time storm. At its very center, there are portals to many different times. When they returned, they informed me of Skips's adventure to a different time. I thought it preposterous at the time, but I can see it to be quite true now.

"It turned out that at the same time they returned, my brother was visiting me with some friends of his. I welcomed Skips and his friend in heartily and offered them a chance at immortality. Of course, I also made the suggestion that an education would be very good as well.

"Skips's friend had already had an education, but Skips hadn't completed his due to the amount of fights he had been in. I didn't pry much, I just listened, you understand. So, Skips's friend took immortality and became Techmo. He had told me afterward that it was in a family prophecy that this type of thing would happen. Of course, now you can guess which guests I had with me."

"The Guardians of Eternal Youth," said Skips.

"Exactly," replied Michelle. "They were going into one last year of school before going out on their own. Little did I know, Skips would soon join them.

"Now, the school that they went to was called Benton High School. As of 1792, it had yet to be built. In 1803, the Guardians enrolled, and Skips among them. The school had been completed in 1800, so it wasn't a very old school as it was... though it wasn't to be taken advantage of either. There were a great many bright young men and women and older men and women who entered the school for a chance at bettering their minds.

"During that year, I became friends with a young woman of about 2 and 30... oh, excuse me, I meant to say 32. I guess I kinda got in the era of my story a little. Anyway, her name was Desdemona and..." At the mention of Desdemona, Skips gave a sharp intake of breath. He was obviously surprised.

"You knew Desdemona?" asked Skips.

"Who couldn't have, Skips? She got attention enough," Michelle said. It sounded almost haughty, but more jealous... and jealousy it was. "Anyway, Desdemona was a nice girl who had just so happened to capture Skips's heart. It was shortly after he joined the Prom committee that I learned his name was Walks. I was overcome with a great jealousy since Desdemona had gotten to Skips first and I was beginning to feel the first pains of one who doesn't express their emotions quite enough.

"On the evening before Prom, I had a dream. I went over to Desdemona's house to warn her, but her parents told me she had already left. I ran to the school to warn her because if the dream told me anything, it was this: someone was going to die that night. However, by the time I got there, it was too late. I respectfully attended her funeral... from a distance. It was from then I decided to move on... and I did.

"For the next 206 years, I wandered around the world, looking for a place. I was looking for a place to belong... and a way to forget. I never forgot though. I always managed to come back. I always managed to come and see Skips. He always looked the same to me as he did when I first..." Michelle paused, not wanting to say the words on the tip of her tongue. She went on, "I have had five lovers besides Adam. Death, obviously, was one of them. I won't divulge the names of the others... or the names of the other children who I lost... even though I lost 12 children, all before they reached the age of 18." She paused again, feeling pain in her heart all over again. She swallowed deeply.

"So... then what?" asked Renae.

"Well, five years ago, I lost another child. She was adopted, but I still felt a deep sense of attachment to her, as I do for all of my children. She died at the age of 16 in a house fire. Everything I am... everything I was made out to be and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I received the medicine that made me a siren in the year 2000. It was supposed to only last seven years, but it has lasted longer.

"As I watched the firemen put out the fire and the feeling of having lost another child began to sink in again, Death appeared to me. It was the last time he appeared to me as a lover. I begged of him to leave my side since having Death does not encourage life, something I sorely want. I begged of him one last act of love though... and that last act of love was to rid me of my cursed voice... which... he did. That's the story in the entirety I am willing to reveal."

"That's not everything you want to say though," said Renae.

"No... but I don't wish to say anything I'll regret," replied Michelle.

"I think you're old enough that you shouldn't have any more regrets. Just say it and get it over with," said Renae.

"I couldn't, really..." said Michelle.

"Say it."

"I..."

"Say it!"

"No."

"Say it already!"

"No!"

"If you won't say it, I will."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I might."

Michelle stared at Renae, sizing up the possibility that it might come out of her mouth. Finally, she sighed, defeated. She looked into Skips's eyes and tried to find the courage she had been seeking for over 200 years. "Sk- _Walks,_" said Michelle quietly.

"Yeah, Michelle?" asked Skips.

"Call me Evangeline," she said.

"Evangeline?" he asked. He still waited for her to say what she wanted to say.

Michelle's eyes looked down and she found her fingers twiddling around. She broke her hands apart and instead took Skips's hands in hers. It took a moment of glancing from the hands, to his chest, before she finally made eye contact again. This time, she didn't look away, and she couldn't. _It's now or never... _she thought.

As many times as she may have run through it in her head, nothing prepared her for this moment, really. When it came down to the moment she actually had to say the words she'd been aching to say, her mind was drawing a blank. She started slow, "When I first met you, I acknowledged the fact in my mind I fancied how you looked, but I was a young woman and you were still a boy. When you came to me again, that time with adventure in your eyes, I knew I fancied you more. It wasn't just looks that time. There was something about you... you had the spirit of a man I had been seeking since my youth. Your youth reminded me of my youth. Of course, I didn't realize how deep I was in until I realized that when Desdemona mentioned your name, I grew jealous. One couldn't be jealous unless..." she paused. "When I first learned your name, it sealed it for me. Walks... there is no denying it and there is no deviating from the truth any longer. Walks... I am in love with you."

* * *

**There's a good spot to stop ;D I like leaving my audience in suspense. It's a good technique to ensure people return. What will Skips's response be? Will all of Michelle's hopes be dashed or might this be the beginning of something good? Only I know! If you'd like to know as well, then please keep reading and reviewing, and you shall ;)**


	6. Chapter 6: The Decision

Chapter 6: The Decision

In another part of the city, there was another anthropomorphic blue jay. He was in a hotel with a girl a lot younger than him. He happened to be the immortal brother of Michelle's. He and the girl were getting pretty frisky, going so far that they wound up in their underwear before his cell phone rang. "Curses! It never fails! Every time I convince a girl to stay the night with me somewhere, my cell rings..." He picked up the phone to answer it. "What?!"

"_Well, if you're going to be like that, perhaps I should call you later. It's not like I matter or anything,_" said the person on the other line.

"Michelle? Oh, why do you always have to call me at the worst of times?" asked the blue jay.

"_Jay..._"

"Fine. What do you want?"

"_I just really need someone to talk to._"

"Do you need me to intervene with anyone?"

"_No, I honestly don't think you could take him if it were necessary._" Michelle laughed.

"Well, you know I'm here for you. That's what big brothers do for their little sisters... except for when I'm busy."

"_You're not on the clock, thus you are not busy._"

"So, if I was at work right now, you wouldn't call me?"

"_Correct._"

"I should be at work more often then."

"_Come on, Jay, I hardly ever see you anymore._"

"Michelle, what is this really all about?" Michelle didn't answer. "You confessed and ran out, didn't you?"

"_Yeah... I really suck at confessions._"

"I got that a long time ago, Michelle."

"_What should I do?_"

"Well, don't be weird about it. Just ask him how he feels about you. Guys are really straight forward, Elle, I don't understand what your problem is."

"_My problem is that guys are straight forward. I'm afraid of what he'll say. I feel like such an idiot for confessing like that._"

"Don't be. If he doesn't like you back, how bad would that be?"

"_Well, then I'd no longer have a reason for living, now, would I?_"

"Elle..."

"_No, Jay, I've been after him for 200 years, trying to get up the nerve to tell him how I feel-_"

"Which you did."

"_But now I just know he's going to reject me because of how lame I am!_"

"Elle, you're not lame. What made you think that?"

"_My hips are too wide, my breasts are too big, I have scars littered across my body, and I am just not any good overall._"

"Well, this is the first time I've heard a woman complain her breasts were too big." Jay laughed.

"_Jay, I had a size B at the age of 16. Now, I have a big size C. The next time I get pregnant, I'll definitely get into the DD range._"

"What's wrong with that?"

"_It's too big!_"

Jay rolled his eyes. "You're making excuses, Elle."

"_I'm not making excuses, I'm pointing out the obvious._"

Jay rubbed his fingers on his forehead. "Michelle, you're fine. Think about it: you're over 200 years old and you still look the same way you did when you were 23. You have the perfect hourglass figure, which, in case you didn't know, a lot of guys like."

"_More like the hourglass breasts and the pear hips._"

Jay sighed. "Michelle, are you eating ice cream in your pajamas right now?"

"_No..._" a sound of whipped cream on the other end betrayed her._  
_

Jay sighed again. "All right. Stay there, I'm coming over. It's not really a full year until I calm down my little sister's latest panic attack."

"_I'm only your junior by two minutes and you know it!_"

"I'm still the oldest."

"_Whatever_."

"I'll see you soon, sis."

"_Could you bring chocolate syrup when you come? I'm out._"

"And you wonder why you have pear hips."

"_Shut up!_"

"All right, not the right thing to say, I know. I'll be right over."

"_With chocolate syrup?_"

"Maybe."

"_You're not bringing any, are you?_"

"You know me all too well, sister."

"_Ugh, fine... just come quickly._"

"I'd already be on the road if you didn't keep talking to me."

"_Okay._" She hung up.

"Well, that was abrupt." Jay turned to the girl still in the bed. "My dear, it has been an elegant night that I'm afraid we'll have to resume on a later date. How's Saturday for you?"

"How about never again, loser?" the girl got up and put her clothes back on. She walked out in a huff.

"What did I do?!" Jay threw up his arms exasperatedly. He sighed deeply and got his clothes back on. He went to his bike and rode off in the direction of the park.

When Jay arrived at the park, there were people outside waiting for him. Jay knew Renae, so he asked her what was going on. Renae said, "She's upstairs. Just follow the depressing music and you'll find her."

"That bad, huh?" asked Jay.

"She's probably just overreacting," said Renae.

"What exactly happened?"

"She confessed to Skips, hesitated, then ran upstairs in a fit of tears. She locked her door and turned on the depressing music. She's been in there for 40 minutes with no end in sight."

"Don't worry, I've brought her out of funks before, this shouldn't be any different."

"I've never seen her this down before though."

"We'll just see."

They had been making their way into the house and up the stairs while they were talking. They were in front of the door when Renae said, "Well, good luck with that." She scampered off and Jay knocked on the door.

"_Go away,_" came a dismal voice from inside.

"Come on, drama queen, let me in," said Jay.

"_Fine._" There was a lot of shuffling before the door was unlocked and Michelle opened it. Her feathers were in a complete state of disarray and the feathers on her head were especially bad. Her eyes were tear-strained and she looked like she hadn't heard a good word in many years, which, was probably very true.

"Come here, lil' sis," said Jay, opening his arms. Michelle rushed to him and new tears began flowing. Jay combed her feathers with his fingers, trying to calm her down. "It's not the end of the world."

"No, it's the end of everything."

"Or the beginning. I mean, come on, did you even give him a chance to tell you how he felt about this?"

"I don't need to give him a chance to know what he'll say."

"And what would that be?"

"He'd say, 'I still love Desdemona,' which is stupid because she's nothing now but a rotting corpse in the ground."

"You don't know that though."

"How do _you_ know he _wouldn't_?" Jay didn't have an immediate answer.

He went with, "Get dressed, we're going somewhere."

"I don't want to."

"It'll be good for you, come on." Michelle gave a long, drawn-out groan as she went back into her room. She came back out in a plain red t-shirt, dirty blue jeans, and tennis shoes that were too worn for even beggars. She had a helmet under one arm and her feathers were much smoother, but not entirely groomed. Jay chuckled, "You still have those street luge shoes?"

"What? I like these shoes. They carry a lot of memories in their souls."

Jay chuckled and shook his head. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"For a ride."

"I know that, but where?"

"You'll see." Michelle rolled her eyes, but smiled.

Jay and she got on his bike and they rode off. The street bike soon turned onto a dirt road and began climbing up a mountain. Higher and higher they went until they reached a clearing. They got off the bike and Jay dug around in his pack. He pulled out a blanket and put it on the ground. He and Michelle laid down on the blanket and looked at the stars.

"I miss this," said Michelle after a few minutes. "We used to do this all the time... but now you have that job and I am still trying figure out life."

"What's to figure out? You've been living longer than most people and you don't have life figured out yet?" asked Jay.

"Well, having a family is easy enough. Dealing with death is... hard, but manageable. I have learned more things than most and I have forgotten more things than most." Jay laughed at that. "There's just one thing I can't wrap my head around. That thing has a name and it is Skips."

"Do you want me to talk with him?"

"No, every time you talk to a guy I'm interested in, you wind up punching them in the face and saying, 'You better not screw up.' I had a guy abandon me at the altar because of that."

"Well, that guy was a sissy anyway. You don't need that."

They were quiet for a little bit until Michelle spoke again, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"How do you find love so easily with girls?"

"If you think what I do with the girls I meet is out of love, you're sorely mistaken. Michelle, I'm doomed to live forever, so unless I can find another immortal girl, I can never fall in love... so I don't even try. You, on the other hand, have met someone immortal, but you haven't done anything about it except expose yourself and go hide in a corner. Is that how you want to live?"

"No, but love is just so confusing. It's the one thing I can never understand."

"Well, I've never been in love, but I think that if you are, then you need to act on it."

"And if he says no?"

"It's not that big of a loss, is it?"

"No, my 200-year-old crush saying no to me will be no big deal at all."

"Speaking of centennial things, isn't today the day your vow is void?"

"Oh, yeah, the one I made to never smoke for the next 100 years. I promised that to one of my last husbands on his death bed... his name was Nicholas... yes."

"Wow, do you remember all of their names?"

"Well, naturally."

"So...?"

"I don't have the desire to smoke again yet. Besides, the only reason why I made that vow in the first place was because it was getting out of control."

"Oh, yeah, you were super depressed for the last three years of your marriage to Nicholas."

"You know how sad it is when you get mistaken for your husband's granddaughter when you're actually old enough to be _his_ grandmother, if not older?"

"I dated an old woman once."

"Oh, yeah, Beatrice, was her name?"

"I don't know. I don't keep track of names."

"She was nice."

"And old. I know we're old, but I certainly don't feel old. Do you?"

"Not really."

"Hey, Elle?"

"Yeah, Jay?"

"Why is it so hard for you?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but... it's really hard maintaining focus sometimes. I just... I will think I'm doing something right, but when I turn around, it turns out to be not as good for me in the long run."

They were both quiet, just looking at the stars and lost in their own thoughts. Jay said, "Well, you never know until you try."

"No... if I ask him if he likes me... I just can't risk being told 'no.' I've been in this too long to accept rejection," said Michelle.

"You've been through a lot though; a lot more than other people have."

"You're still telling me to pursue this further, aren't you?"

"Well, if you want to live with having awkward encounters with him forever until something happens, then no. You can absolutely ignore him if you so chose, but that will not do your heart any good. You know that."

"I suppose... well, thanks for bringing me out here. I feel a lot better now."

"Sure thing, sis."

"I just wish I could share my life with someone and not feel empty."

"And what if you feel that with Skips?"

Michelle laughed bitterly. "Then I shall feel beyond depressed." She paused. "Man, I should have brought this up much sooner."

"Well, better late than never, I always say. Do you want to grab something to eat or drink?"

"We could go to a bar and get smashed. That'd be fun."

Jay laughed. "As fun as that would be, I haven't the time. I have an appointment early tomorrow morning that I cannot miss." He stood up and offered his hand to help Michelle up. She took it and stood with him.

"Ah, boo," said Michelle. "Well, have fun with that and be safe."

"I'm always safe, Elle." He smiled widely at her and got on his bike. "Come on, I'll drop you off, and then I have to go."

"All right." She got the blanket from off of the ground, put it away, and boarded the bike with her brother.

They arrived back at the park and Michelle thanked her brother one last time for helping her before he rode off. She then went into the house, into her room, and plunked onto a bed. She got back up with a start when she realized the fullness of there being a bed there. _Who put this here? _she thought. She was tired enough that she didn't really care. She looked over to the other side of the room and saw Renae lying there in her sleeping bag, drool pooling on the sleeping bag and getting dangerously close to the floor. Michelle shook her head and just turned over and went to sleep.

The following morning came too quickly for Michelle. Renae wasn't much help either. Michelle shuffled over to Renae and kicked her awake. "Ow! What was that for?!" asked Renae.

"It's morning, wake up," said Michelle drowsily. She shuffled over to the closet and brought out another set of clothes. She put on a robe and decided to take a shower. She came back 20 minutes later and Renae went in after her. They agreed to meet downstairs after Renae was done getting ready.

Michelle made a head-start for downstairs and got the coffee brewing. She knew Renae was an avid coffee-drinker. As for herself, she liked having a glass of milk every morning. As she sat at the table, drank her milk, and listened to the clock ticking, she thought about her life, a habit she did every morning she was alone.

Renae finally came down and poured coffee for herself. She then pulled cereal from the cupboard and had that for breakfast. "Aren't you going to eat something?"

"Maybe in a little bit. I don't know why I feel so tired," said Michelle. She got up and shuffled around until she had pancakes going. "Why am I making pancakes?"

"You made them the other day, why is it weird to you?"

"It's weird because the last time I made pancakes, other than the other day, it was for... someone else."

"Who?"

"My adoptive daughter from five years ago."

"What happened to her?"

"She died in a fire, remember?"

"Oh, yeah... you said that... last night."

"She had pancakes every day from age two to age 12. Then, she stopped having pancakes until that last day... I don't know why she wanted pancakes on that day, particularly, but she did... and... I haven't made pancakes since." A tear fell from her eye. She shrugged it off and kept making pancakes. When she had made four of them, she wrapped up three and prepared one for herself. She liked having butter and powdered sugar on her pancakes.

After breakfast, the chores were handed out. Michelle tried her best to avoid Skips as much as possible, but some little thing kept bringing her to him. These things included: "Hey, Skips, could you help me with this?" "Hey, Skips, can I ask you something?" "I just need to double check something..." It was awkward. Her desperate attempts to avoid him turned into desperate attempts to be with him.

That night, they all went out for Wing Kingdom. It was to make up for the night Michelle had missed. Things were starting to look up. Michelle laughed at the jokes and was, overall, in a very good mood. Then, she disappeared into her thoughts and was only brought back out of them by Skips.

"You all right, Michelle?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Skips, thank you," said Michelle. She twirled her finger on the table in figure eight patterns, trying to shut out everything.

"Are you sure?" asked Renae.

"Yeah... I just feel bad is all. It's like, I've learned to keep to myself, but that shuts out other people. I don't like doing that anymore. So..." Michelle pulled out a coin and was about ready to flip it. "Heads, I tell a secret that I _have_ told to another living mortal soul; Tails, I tell a secret I _haven't _told to another living mortal soul."

"All right," said Renae.

"Okay... here we go." Michelle flipped the coin and wound up with tails. "How'd I know? Let's see..." Michelle thought. "All right, I got one. I once highlighted my feathers pink."

"Really?" asked Mordecai.

"Here, I've got a picture of it," said Michelle, taking out her smart phone. She pulled up the picture and passed it around. It was the same Michelle with light blue feathers only there was a lot of pink... _everywhere._

"Whoa... let me go!" said Renae.

"All right," said Michelle while exchanging her phone for the coin. Renae flipped the coin and wound up with heads.

"Okay, this is something I've only told Michelle, so bear with me... one time, when I was drunk, I walked into a park and fell asleep. When I woke up, I was mistaken for a whole raccoon. I was never able to return to that park because of that," said Renae.

"Oh, yeah, and it turned out to be the East Pines park, didn't it?" asked Michelle.

"Oh, yeah... huh, I guess I forgot about that part," said Renae. The two girls high-fived and Michelle got her coin back.

"All right, I'll go again," said Michelle. She flipped the coin and got heads. "This is something I've only told Renae. A few years ago, I got a tattoo. This was a buzzed escapade. I was in between being aware and unaware of what was going on. It's located somewhere kinda low, but it's also pretty obvious, once you see it."

"What's it a tattoo of?" asked Mordecai.

"Oh, you know, it's one of those hearts with an arrow through it with a scroll on the front reading: 'Reserved for True Love.' It's kinda pointless since I have no idea who that is." Michelle shrugged. "Well, this has been a really nice evening. I thank you all for your company and kindness."

Michelle got up and Renae asked, "Where are you going?"

"Back to the park," replied Michelle.

"Alone?"

"You can come with me if you want. I just wanted to go for a walk."

"All right." So, Renae and Michelle walked back to the park. As they walked, Michelle thought in her mind, _I have to make the decision soon... or else I'll be miserable for another half century. _Michelle frowned while at the same time tried to keep it cool for her friend. After all, what kind of friend would she be if she ruined her friend's evening with something as commonplace as a little emotional pain and some spinal discomfort?

* * *

**Okay, so Michelle's gonna be depressed for a little bit... sorry. That's just the way it has to go. I hope you guys like it so far and please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)**


	7. Chapter 7: The Promise

Chapter 7: The Promise

Michelle was silently glad it wasn't winter. She would profess to love all seasons, but winter was not a good time for her bones. Just at the start of winter, she'd start cramping up and her bones would crack and creak. There was no other explanation for it besides her old age. This thing that she was experiencing now though was something else entirely.

Michelle looked at herself in the mirror. It was the dawn of a new day; last night had come and gone, but the pain was still there, if not more obvious. She looked herself over and let out a small shriek when she saw something on her back. It covered the whole length of her spine and it was black with glowing red intertwined in it like veins. She was breathy as she thought, _What is this?!_ It was then she remembered a similar ailment on her past loved ones. There would be a black _thing _with glowing red veins covering an area on them. It would spread, then it would come to life and overtake them. _If this is anything like those past experiences, I don't have long. _She turned around so that she was fully facing the mirror. "Well, any thoughts on what you should do before you die?" she asked her reflection. She waited, as if for a response. She spoke again, feigning shock, "A party?! We're stricken with an incurable disease and your solution for our final days is _party?! _All right, I'm good with that." The problem with the plan: who would approve?

At the park meeting, Benson said, "All right, you guys, I- where's Michelle?" Michelle wasn't there. It was after they noticed this that Michelle ran up the park path and collapsed on the steps, panting. "Why are you late?!" asked Benson.

"It all happened so fast... the walls came down... _no way out..._" Michelle panted.

"Whoa, slow down, what happened?" asked Benson.

"Here's a signed excuse. If you don't believe it, it's be on the news later at 5:00," said Michelle, handing Benson a rumpled piece of paper.

Benson looked it over and said, "Is everyone all right?"

"Oh, they all made it out fine, but it all came down so quickly."

"Well, I-" Benson was interrupted by his cell ringing. "Just a second." He went off to answer it. When he returned, he pulled Skips aside and whispered something to him. He turned back to the group and said, "I have to go. Audrey just called me from the hospital. Her aunt was in a fire and is unconscious. They think she was assaulted. I'm going to see if there's anything I can do. While I'm gone, Skips is in charge." He walked off toward his car. Once he drove off, Michelle jumped to her feet in celebration.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" She saw the looks she was getting, so she stopped. "I mean, uh... that's really sad. I hope everything's okay."

"Did you have anything to do with that?" asked Renae.

"What? No! No, no... maybe?" said Michelle. "Okay, confession time, I may have possibly hit Audrey's aunt in the head with a baseball bat... but I had absolutely nothing to do with the fire! That was just... already in progress... oddly enough." Renae crossed her arms. "I'm being honest here!"

"Why would you do that?" asked Renae.

"I needed Benson gone so that I could throw a party," replied Michelle.

Muscle Man scoffed, "Lame... since when do ladies throw parties?"

"I'll have you know I am practically a party queen. I once attracted a crowd of 5,000 for a party," said Michelle.

"Yeah, right," said Muscle Man.

"What would it take for me to prove to you I can throw a party?" asked Michelle.

"Throw one better than Mordecai and Rigby did?" suggested High-Five Ghost.

"That party was all right, but I'd be willing to bet that you can't even reach half of the level of that party," said Muscle Man.

"What's your wager?" asked Michelle. Her arms were crossed, her hip was cocked to the left, and there was the fire of competition in her eyes. Anyone who knew her would say there was no swaying her once she got to this point.

"If you win and your party gets as wild or as many people as Mordecai and Rigby's party did, then I'll quit eating at Wing Kingdom for two whole weeks," said Muscle Man.

There was a resounding '_Ooh._' Michelle said, "I think it'd be wiser of you to wage something more reasonable."

"I stand by it. There's no way you could throw a better party," said Muscle Man.

"All right, then here's what would happen on the off-chance I lose. If my party blows, I'll be your personal servant for two whole weeks. Whatever you say goes," said Michelle. There was a resounding gasp at that one.

"Michelle, back out! There's just no way you could beat him!" said Rigby.

"Watch me," said Michelle. She took out her phone. "Before I slide through this like butter, what are the conditions of the wager?"

"You have to arrange it all yourself and you can't get caught by Benson," said Muscle Man.

"I agree to those terms," said Michelle. She dialed a number on her phone. "Hey, Jack, it's me. We're having another one. Deliver bottles and pacifiers to The Park. Don't leave out the good stuff, we need plenty of it."

"_Delivery set and ready to go. I'll bring the goods,_" said Jack on the other line before hanging up.

Michelle dialed another number. "Hey, Roadie, my man. Bring as many people as you can to The Park. I'm looking for hitting it out of the park."

"_All right,_" Roadie replied before hanging up.

Another number dialed and the food was taken care of. One more number to a musical friend and entertainment was in the bag. Michelle pocketed her phone. "Done and done," she said.

"Bottles and pacifiers?" asked Renae.

"It's better to say that than alcohol and drugs, now, isn't it?" asked Michelle.

"Oh, it's a drinking party," said Renae.

"The best kind. You know, when I'm drunk, I can play the drums like a prodigy," said Michelle.

"No way!" said Renae.

"I don't lie about the skins," Michelle replied with a wink.

"Now, hold on a minute, Michelle. Aren't you going a little too far?" asked Skips.

"It'll be fine. No matter how drunk I get, I'm always aware of what's going on... at least, so long as I drink the right stuff. If I drink the wrong stuff, I can be throwing up until the next evening," said Michelle, already feeling queasy at the thought.

"When's the party start?" asked Renae.

"8:00," replied Michelle. "I've once had a party go from then until midday next day. Thankfully, my party buds know when the party starts... always."

"What was your fastest clean-up time?" asked Rigby.

"Fastest clean-up time? Hmm... let's see... I believe 30 seconds was my clean-up time. Of course, I didn't time myself, but I could have sworn the minute hand never moved and the digital clock still read the same time. It was weird too because for a second, I thought time had stopped," Michelle recalled.

"How long ago was your last party?" asked Mordecai.

"Let's see... my last party was in the year 2000. That happened to be the same party that attracted the crowd of 5,000," said Michelle.

"Oh, yeah, Y2K," said Renae.

"Yeah, exactly, so, I got drunk, played the drums, and the people went nuts," said Michelle.

"And what do you intend to do if this goes wrong?" asked Skips.

"Oh, quit being a mother hen. Nothing will go wrong," assured Michelle.

"This is totally wrong!" Michelle said some hours later. She threw the bottle at the man 'Jack.' "You got me this worthless booze and you expect me to have fun with it?!"

"Hey, this is the thing with the kids these days," said Jack.

"I can't get drunk off of this. If I can't get drunk, then there will be no drums. If there are no drums, then there will be no party!" said Michelle angrily.

"What's that I hear? No party? Well, I guess this means I already won the bet... _slave,_" said Muscle Man, who had come up behind her.

"No, no, there'll be a party, rest assured," said Michelle.

"Yeah, good luck with that," said Muscle Man, walking away.

When he was gone, Michelle slapped a hand to her forehead in frustration. "Okay, I guess I'm going to have to get my own booze since my most reliable booze provider just went sober. I mean, Ale? Really? Why don't we just attend AA? You and I both know there's more alcohol in that room than in one bottle of Ale."

"Look, this is what I got. Are you taking it or not?" asked Jack.

Michelle sighed. "I can't take anything less than the best. I'll provide my own alcohol. What's the status on the drugs?"

"I'm out of your usual preferences."

"Well, what _do _you have?"

"Green."

"This isn't a green party, Jack. This is a crazy party like back in 2000. Where's the sugar?"

"Don't have any."

"What?! That's- you know what, you know what, no. You're off of the guest list, Jack."

"What did I do?! This is the stuff they want!"

"It's not what will be _fun _though."

Jack just looked at her. "Do you want it or not?"

"I'm doing my own thing. If anybody asks, I'll just tell them what they want to hear. Now, go." Jack packed up his things and went, leaving Michelle rubbing her forehead in dismay. "Can't ask for help, so I'll have to find a by-way of doing it." She put her hand to her chin in thought. Then, Mordecai and Rigby walked by, so an idea formed. "Hey, Mordecai and Rigby! Come here."

"What's up?" asked Mordecai.

"You're not asking for help, are you?" asked Rigby.

"No, no! I just... I need a way to do two things at once. Can you guys give me advice on that?" asked Michelle.

"Well, you could ask for help..." suggested Rigby.

"I'm not asking for help! I just... um..." Then, the light bulb hit full brightness. "I'm asking you guys to not help me." She rolled her hands, expecting them to get the hint.

"Yeah, that's what we were doing," said Rigby.

"Oh, I think I get what you mean, Michelle," said Mordecai. "You want us to not help you by not looking after things while you go someplace else."

"Exactly not that," said Michelle. She walked off, hoping they got it.

Once she was gone, Rigby asked, "Did you get any of that?"

"Not a clue, dude. Come on, let's go sit on the roof and see the sights," said Mordecai.

"You did get what she asked, didn't you?"

"I didn't get what she didn't ask." Rigby was so confused that he didn't say more.

7:30 rolled around and the first guests were starting to pile in. Michelle hadn't come back yet and neither had Benson. There was certainly an amount of worry coming from the park crew (excepting Muscle Man) and an unrest happening among the guests. It was beginning to look like there would be no party at all.

Then, a bright light came up the drive. It was a huge semi. It stopped just short of the end of the path. The trailer opened up from all sides and turned into a platform with drums on it. Michelle was at the drums with a smug and confident smile on her face. The platform inside the trailer was attached to a crane. This crane put Michelle on the roof of the house. The remaining items in the trailer were the good kind of 'refreshments' and refreshments. A few strong men emerged from the truck and started handing things out to the crowd. Michelle waved a hand and one of the men tossed a microphone up to her and hooked up the sound system.

"Just to be clear: I found everything and got everything. These guys are just the delivery boys. Now, are we ready to rock?!" asked Michelle. The crowd cheered. Michelle took a long drink from a bottle in a brown bag. It took so long that it was almost as if she were drinking water. "Now, forgive me if I'm a little terrible at first. It'll get better as the night goes on." She rapped her sticks together before starting into a pretty decent solo.

It was about an hour later that the party hit a peak. Everyone was having a good time and Michelle's drum playing was reaching expert levels. "All right! Now, ladies and germs, get ready for la main event: the best... solo... ever!" Surprisingly, Michelle still sounded pretty sober. She began a drum solo that sounded _really _great. It was couldn't hold a candle to the 500 piece solo, but for a solo just done on drums, it was really good.

After the solo was done, the crowd went up in cheers. Michelle looked at the crowd and there were plenty of smiles and happy people. As her eyes met Skips though, she saw disapproval in his eyes. It was understandable enough since it was a reckless activity in which she could get caught at any moment, but she wasn't going to back out now. She was all in.

"All right. Are you guys havin' a good time?" asked Michelle. The audience cheered. "Yeah? I'm glad. I'm glad... of course, not everyone can have such a good time. Sometimes... sometimes you have an even better time than you thought you were expecting before! So..." She would have continued, but she caught sight of something foreboding on the horizon. From her vantage point, she could see beyond the park walls... and what she saw wasn't good. "All right, guys, thanks for coming, but party's over. Time to bail!" The 'delivery guys' had been prepared for this. They picked up everything, quick as a flash, and got everyone out of there in less than a minute.

Michelle got down from the roof and was just in time for the car to pull up the drive. The delivery guys were gone. Now, the only problem was getting rid of her guilt. She decided not to hide her guilt on drinking, but the party would forever lie in secrecy.

It was Benson's car. He came out of the car and was greeted by his staff. "Audrey's aunt will be okay. She was awake when I left and it's looking like she'll be able to go to Audrey's place to stay until she can find somewhere else to stay," said Benson in explanation.

"Oh, that's just great, Benson. Just great," said Michelle.

Benson went toward her and sniffed. "You're drunk, aren't you?" he asked.

"What? I'm not allowed to drink? I'm over 200 years old. I think I'm legal," said Michelle. Her eyes were drooping, but her voice was still relatively sound.

"Go to bed, Michelle," said Benson.

Michelle blew a razz-berry and said, "Fun killer," before heading toward the house.

"Michelle?" asked Skips.

Michelle turned back and said, "Yeah?"

"I just wanted you to know that I've thought about what you said the other day and I'd like to get to know you better," said Skips.

"Oh? Okay, you can start by giving up the promise you made about skipping forevermore. I mean, how is anybody supposed to walk side-by-side with you if you're skipping? It's like listening to a record with scratches on it when you skip-talk," said Michelle. "I'm sorry about that. I think I'm entering the stage of drunkenness where I don't care so much anymore about what I say. Maybe in a few more swallows I'll be speaking gibberish." She pulled the bottle from her pocket, but had it taken away by Skips.

"Don't you think you've had enough for tonight?"

"Oh, I see. Now _you're _the fun killer. Well, you know what? I still have booze on me." From out of her shirt she pulled a clear plastic tube. She sipped at it and a clear liquid came up to her lips. She sighed and said, "There's no way you can take this away."

"Come on, Michelle, I'll take you inside," said Renae.

"You're all- you're all turning on me. No, you know what? No, K?" she held the tube and kept sipping from it as she stumbled toward the house.

Skips came up to her and said, "Why don't I make a new promise then?"

"Oh, you again... what'd you have in mind?" asked Michelle.

"I promise to be your friend and do all I can to make you happy."

"A friend." She scoffed quietly. "What else should I have been expecting?" She gripped the railing and slowly made her way up the steps. Skips tried to help her, but by the time they reached the top, she swatted him away. "Look, Skips, I haven't got long, so don't make this any harder than it has to be. I'd like to go to sleep tonight blissfully ignorant. I want to have another of my best dreams before I lose this haze. Now, leave me." She went inside and Skips sighed.

The following morning, Michelle woke up with the same tired bones, but when she looked down at herself, she noticed the disease was spreading. It was going to get hard to hide it... and even more impossible to convince people to leave her alone. That was all Adam needed was another target. No, she'd take the fall... she didn't care. It wasn't like she had anything left to live for anyway. She looked over to her bedside table since something caught her attention in her peripheral. Bringing it to her frontal focus, it was a white rose in a vase with a note attached to it. It said, _Hope your hangover's not so bad. If you've got a headache, there's a pain killer right beside the vase. I hope we can still be friends, Skips._ Michelle reached over further on the table. There was a glass of water and a pill. She took the pill in her mouth, swallowed it, and drank some of the water. She put the glass back on the table and thought, _Well, it's not what I was hoping for nor does it help in any way... but at least I've still got a chance._

* * *

**Where will it go from here? Please keep reading and reviewing to find out! Thanks, guys :)**


	8. Chapter 8: The Inhibition

Chapter 8: The Inhibition

The park met in the downstairs living room since it was a particularly hot day outside. It was the type of temperature that could kill. So, Benson gave everyone the day off. Sweat was dripping from everyone and they were all too glad for the day off. Mordecai and Rigby both made exhausted "Oh"s. Michelle was just glad to have an excuse to get out of the clothes she had chosen for the day. To cover the infection, she had put on a red turtleneck sweater, dark blue jeans, and boots with one-inch heels. It would have been a better outfit at Christmas.

Just as she was in her room about to take the sweater off, someone knocked on her door. She sighed and called out, "Come in!"

It was Skips. "Hey, Michelle," he said.

"Hey," she replied.

"Isn't it a little warm to have a sweater on?"

"I actually don't feel all that well. I might be catching a cold." She gave a few fake coughs to try to convince him, but right after she did it, she knew it was a futile effort.

"Michelle..."

"What is it you wanted, Skips?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, I was thinking that... I mean, if you weren't doing anything and if you were bored that you might want to do something. That you might want to do something with me?"

Michelle's eyes lit up and a smile crossed her face. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, I have nothing better to do."

_This is as good a chance as any, _thought Michelle. Aloud, she said, "Sure, why not?" They both smiled and Michelle didn't hesitate in making her way out the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to change into something better suited for the weather?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks though." She said this, but as soon as she stepped outside into the searing heat, she immediately began regretting her decision. She didn't let onto it though.

Skips and Michelle went around town trying to beat the heat. They got ice cream from an ice cream truck and wandered in and out of stores that had air-conditioning. Once the ice cream had been finished and thrown away. Michelle giggled a little.

"What?" asked Skips.

"I was just thinking about this one incident I had with an ice cream truck," Michelle said with a smile.

"A funny story?"

"It didn't start out funny. It was actually quite scary at the time... but now that I can look back on it safely, it's definitely really funny." They walked on in silence for a little bit, neither wanting to say anything really.

As they made their way through town, they noticed a gang of street performers. One was juggling torches on a unicycle, one was swallowing fire, and one other was making a small black poodle perform tricks. Skips and Michelle stopped to watch them. As they watched, Michelle felt like she was beginning to get woozy. The heat was getting to her. She started seeing more black and red than had originally been there. She started swaying, but she tried forcing herself to stay upright.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from out of nowhere in a cloud of black and red smoke. It was Adam. He came toward Michelle and stood before her. "Well, well, well, what an amusing sight this shall be. I should have brought popcorn," he said with a smile.

"Go away," said Michelle weakly, her eyes roving between being focused and going into the back of her head.

"This is the part I like best. So much of it has spread that all it would take would be one more incident... but that doesn't mean I can't have my fun now." he snapped his fingers and something else appeared in a cloud of black and red smoke. It was Sheena, the woman Skips had won a date with on the show _It's a Date!, _tied up with tape covering her mouth. Another snap of Adam's fingers made the crowd divide and go away and the bonds on Sheena disappeared. The only ones in sight were Skips, Michelle, Adam, and Sheena. Adam rubbed his hands together like a miser and said, "Here we go." Adam magically moved from the ground to the roof of a nearby building. Adam snapped his fingers again and a wild bull appeared. "Let the games begin!" he said with a laugh.

The bull charged at Michelle and she set about to running off. Her strength was not as it should have been, so fighting would probably kill her. Sheena screamed and the bull changed direction and started charging _her._ She fell to the ground and covered herself, paralyzed with fear. Skips, being the gentleman he was, ran at the bull and knocked it to the ground. He helped Sheena to her feet. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," said Sheena, sounding shaken. The bull got up, shook its head, and with an angry snort, set to charging again. Michelle watched from a narrow alley, where she had taken refuge when the bull changed targets. She pulled up her sweater and looked at herself. There were hardly any feathers left. Even her head was beginning to feel the effects of the infection. She took off the sweater and smiled, an idea in her mind.

"I don't have long, so I might as well go out with a bang," said Michelle. She ran out of the alley wearing a light, white undershirt where her sweater had been. She put her fingers in her mouth and gave out a loud whistle. The bull whipped its head toward her. Michelle smiled and her eyes shone with a mischief and cunning that was not uncommon for her. "Toro! Toro!" she said, waving the red sweater about. The bull snorted, almost like a scoff, at her. It turned its head away, but Michelle whistled again to get its attention. She ran toward the bull, but stopped at a close yet safe distance. She waved the sweater again. The bull turned around and began walking away. Michelle ran and jumped onto its back and grabbed it by the horns. The bull freaked out and began running about and thrashing its head, trying to buck her off. It didn't last eight seconds. It bucked her off and she landed on the ground.

Meanwhile, Skips had taken Sheena and moved her away to a safer place. He turned around and noticed Michelle fall to the ground. The bull loomed over her and she looked frozen. Skips gasped and began making his way over to her. Then, Michelle gave the bull a solid punch in the snout. It reared up on its hind legs, giving Michelle time to roll out away from it. She got to her feet and looked at the bull. Its eyes were filled with a fiery anger. If she hadn't been a target before, she most certainly was now. She was about to make another move when she heard something behind her and saw Skips fly through the air and land on the bull's back. A bit of thrashing around happened, but this time, the bull's head was rammed into multiple walls. It eventually collapsed, unconscious, to the ground.

Adam flailed about from his perch. His plan had not gone the way he wanted it to go. He jumped onto the ground and landed behind Michelle. She whipped around and gasped, afraid. "Well, dear, I think it's time I finish what I've started," said Adam.

"You won't win. You _can't _win," said Michelle, panting.

"Oh?" he asked. He brought his hand up and made a squeezing motion. Michelle clutched her sides, crying out in discomfort. Adam shook his hand intensely and Michelle collapsed to the ground. "You never learn, do you?" he seethed. "Why did you have to choose to be immortal? Why?"

"I just didn't want to die alone... but you have done pretty well at trying. I've had... so many days and nights after a death where I was so pitifully alone and... I cried..."

"It has become my duty to rid this universe of immortality. It is sinful, unnatural, and only good for those who are worthy."

"What? Do you think that just anyone is given immortality?"

"You'd be surprised."

"I suppose I would be... if I wasn't so busy with what I was doing." She lashed out and tried to punch him, but her hand was caught in his other hand. He began crushing it and all she could do was curl in a ball and wait for it to be over.

"Pathetic. Don't worry, you'll be gone soon enough. First comes pain, then comes sleep, then comes death. See you in the underworld." He let go of her hand, but kept manipulating the infection with his mind. It was only because it was his infection that he could control it.

"Leave her alone," came a voice. It was Skips.

Adam looked up at him. "What are you gonna do about it, old man?" In reply, Skips lunged at him, but Adam disappeared and re-appeared just a few feet away. Skips went for him again, but again, Adam got out of the way. This went on a few times before Skips finally gave Adam a solid punch in the mouth. Adam spit out blood and began laughing. "It's too late for her now." He disappeared in smoke. Skips's eyes went wide. He ran over to Michelle, who was still in a ball on the ground. She was sobbing.

"Michelle?" he asked softly. He picked her up and held her in his arms.

"Skips..." she said through her tears. "It hurts so bad."

"It's gonna be okay, Michelle."

"No... no, it won't." She took a gasping breath. "So many people have died... all because I'm immortal. He's gone after me and I fear he shall go after my brother or you next. He seeks to kill us through emotional pain... he seeks to see us give up... but I don't want to give up. Over 200 years on this earth... much more time than I really deserved... and I'm still not ready to face death. It's like those people who are terminally ill or just too old to live anymore... I don't understand them. I don't understand anyone who can come to terms with death. Are you afraid of death, Skips?"

Skips was silent a moment. He sighed and said, "I guess I've been at this so long that dying seems outside the realm of possibility. It doesn't seem possible that I could die, yet I know it's possible." He paused. "I guess it's a little scary to think about."

"I know you got your immortality because you wanted to help. You had no one else to die for anyways. You had a noble reason to undergo immortality. Meanwhile, I did it for very selfish purposes. I chose immortality because I didn't want to die alone. I wanted to be with my brother to keep him safe. I wanted... I wanted to be with you even before I knew you so well."

"How well do you know me?"

She shrugged. "I've been watching you all these years. I know you have so much to live for, so many people who think of you as their friend or family. While I... I hardly have anyone left to live for anymore." As she said this, the infection spread some more, leaving only the front of her neck and the rest of her head uncovered.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

She laughed. "Believe me, Skips, if I knew how to fix this, I would have saved so many lives. The sad part of this infection is that you have to give in to it in order to die. With all the pain it's causing, I doubt I will be able to hold up for much longer."

"So, just hold on."

"That's easy for you to say. You're not the one with the infection on your body, raping the innermost, private crevices of your body; inflicting pain by squeezing your heart; words being whispered into your head, making you welcome death... no." She paused, her eyes darting about in thought. "The inhibition I have toward life is death." She shivered and sweat was making its way down her face. She closed her eyes and squinted in concentration. The infection receded a little, but then returned to where it was. It then covered her whole neck and was tracing its way to the bottom part of her face.

"Michelle..."

"I can't do it... I can't." She shivered, the infection spreading ever further.

"Please stay."

"I have no purpose. Why should I stay?"

"Eve!" came a voice. Skips looked up quickly and saw a male blue jay. At first, he thought it was Mordecai, but immediately ruled that out since this blue jay was dressed in biker's clothing. "Evangeline..." He said, coming to Michelle's side.

"Jay... you came..." said Michelle.

"I always come to those who need me," replied Jay.

"Can you help her?" asked Skips.

"This is not a problem I can fix. In conversing with my coworkers, they have found a solution for this. Only true love can heal a broken heart," said Jay. Michelle moaned mournfully and turned her head as the infection spread more. Only her eyes and beak were left completely uncovered.

"There is another way..." another voice said. They all looked in the direction of the new voice and it was Death.

"How? Do you think your powers can save her?" asked Jay.

"It might, it might not," said Death, somewhat sadly. He knelt down and looked at Michelle.

"Well, try it. We haven't much to lose," said Jay. Death nodded. He put a hand to Michelle's chest (right where her heart was) and a green glow emitted from his hand. The infection moved from her to him, but he wasn't affected by it. Instead of spreading to him like it should have, it dissipated and went into the ground. Michelle gasped for air and seemed mostly all right.

"You owe me, Evangeline... but it shall be something I will collect on a later date," said Death as he vanished.

Michelle looked on where Death had vanished, her heart grieved. She didn't know what to believe anymore and it was getting difficult to tell who she really wanted. She stood up shakily as Skips and Jay stood on either side of her.

"Well, now that this crisis has been averted, I have to go," said Jay. "Take care, sister." He looked lovingly at Michelle and gave a glare to Skips. It was the kind of glare one saw in either a brother or a father of a sister or a daughter who was with a man: disapproval. After that, he vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Well... I'm hungry. Are you hungry? Why don't we grab some lunch?" asked Michelle.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Skips, gently grabbing her arm and stopping her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I hardly think it's any of your business. After all, you said it yourself, we've only just met. You know nothing about me. Why should you care?" asked Michelle. After a moment, she laughed and said, "Okay, you know what? You know what? Never mind. Let's just keep this mutual and go to lunch. Is that all right?"

Skips wanted to say something more on the subject, but decided against it. "Lunch sounds fine."

"Great!" Michelle clapped her hands together, pleased. It was as if nothing had happened... almost. Her eyes and her entire demeanor were not as relaxed as she was hoping she was being. She was looking over her shoulder constantly. She was scared that Adam would return and try again to send her to her grave. Immortals were hated for being immortal. It was just as simple as that. There was no changing it, no going away from it. Unless there was a way to get rid of Adam, Michelle would never be left alone.

Lunch was fairly uninteresting. They talked and had a pretty good time. Michelle was still really shaken up about the event though. She was unable to keep it off of her mind.

"Michelle?" asked Skips, for probably the fifth time in two minutes. He had been trying to get her to come out of the clouds of her dreary thoughts.

"Yes, Skips?" she asked. It wasn't coldly, but it wasn't warmly either.

"I'm trying to help here. I can't help if you don't let me. Now, why don't we talk about something to get your mind off of this?"

"It's worth a shot." Michelle took a sip of her water (her favorite soda was not available at that particular establishment). She looked around the establishment, as if looking for a conversation piece in the air. Then, her eyes landed on a guy sitting in a stool across the room. "Oh, no... I didn't notice him when we got in here."

"Who? Adam?" asked Skips.

"No, much worse. Come on, let's go. We're done anyway." She got up, grabbed Skips by the hand, and began dragging him out. They almost were out the door, but a voice stopped them.

"The Eternally Beautiful Miss Song." Michelle rolled her eyes and turned around.

"Hey, Mr. Z," she greeted somewhat sourly.

"I haven't seen you in a while. What's new on the scene or did you give up your singing lifestyle for good? I hear the serum wears off after 20 years and by my mark, you've still got time left. How 'bout another tune for old times' sake?" asked 'Mr. Z.'

"I'd rather not."

Mr. Z grabbed her arm and didn't let her go. "Aw, come on, babe. I just found you and you deny me a little song?"

"That's not who I am anymore."

"Well, then, who are you? A chicken?" he made some chicken noises and flapped his arms rather stupidly.

"Leave me alone."

Mr. Z's grip tightened. "You're not leaving without singing a song with me."

"Yes, she is," said Skips, coming up to Mr. Z. Now, Michelle wasn't that tall when standing next to Skips, but Mr. Z was a bit smaller than that. So, Skips looked more than a little intimidating. "She asked you to leave her alone, so do it."

"What are you? Her bodyguard?" asked Mr. Z.

"Just a good friend who doesn't want to see anything bad happen to her." He looked kindly at Michelle as he said this. Looking back at Mr. Z, he said, "Now if you don't let go pretty quick here, I'm going to have to force you to let her go."

"All right, all right, cool your jets, pops," said Mr. Z, letting Michelle go to put up both of his hands in surrender. "I will get my song though. After all, Michelle's the only competition who's any fun." He gave a strange smile. Though Mr. Z was a human, his teeth were misshapen. They looked more like the teeth of an animal than those of a man, so his smile was not just unsettling, it was downright creepy.

"I'm not using my powers for things like that anymore. I'm using them only in cases of emergency," said Michelle.

"Well, then, Miss Song, let's hope there's a tragic emergency in your life in which I may be a witness so that we may then compete," he said.

"You're a prick. I never want to sing with you ever again; not now nor ever."

"You'll ask for my help someday, just like you did that one winter day. Maybe I'll help you again, and maybe I won't."

"I don't care. I'd be perfectly happy if I never saw you again."

"Very well. _The song has been sung, the last page has been read. My hopes are all flung, you'll see me when I'm dead._" With that, he vanished. Michelle left the restaurant with Skips following her.

"I wish people would stop vanishing and appearing so suddenly. It really makes me quite giddy," said Michelle, holding her hands to her arms as if she were cold.

"Hey, if anything happens, Michelle, you call always call on me," said Skips.

" 'Cause that's what friends are for?"

"_True _friends," Skips clarified. He wrapped an arm around her, not out of the purpose of making a move, but out of keeping her warm and covered. She still had on only that light under shirt and she had dealt with enough cold in the last few hours to last a lifetime. Besides, the hotter than blazes day (as it had been before) was slowly cooling down as afternoon rolled on. The evening was impending, just as much as the morrow.

* * *

**I think that's a good place to stop for now. You guys have no idea how much I want to just rush into romance right now. I know there's a lot of relationship building that needs to take place and they both need to get over the hurt from their pasts, but it makes me antsy. I just want them together already! Oh, well. All good things come through patience. So, until my next update, remember that. Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)**


	9. Chapter 9: The Problem

Chapter 9: The Problem

Death had only removed the infection from _outside _of Michelle's body, it turned out. She was still suffering with it on the _inside._ Her head was spinning and she felt nausea constantly. It was almost like being pregnant for her.

It was the morning following the drama with Adam and the bull and... _that woman. _Maybe Michelle was overreacting a bit, but she didn't like women who went around Skips. She felt bile boil in her stomach and climb up her throat every time she even thought about Sheena or Desdemona. She was in her room, feeling terrible (in more ways than one), and she was looking out the window and what did she see? Skips with Sheena. They were talking... and laughing... and Michelle couldn't stand it. She went away from the window and went further into the room. She stood still a moment, trying to think of what to do. She finally decided to go somewhere on her break.

So, some hours later on her break, Michelle went to the local library. She went inside and absorbed the smell with familiarity. It was a mix of musty pages, old people, and cleaning products. It was almost nice. Almost comforting. She went over to a section of mystery books and sat down to read. She really liked some of the older ones, but at the same time, she'd want to shout out :" 'It's him, you nitwit!' " She didn't though. The loudest she got was a loud whisper that sounded like strained screaming.

She just finished it by the end of her break. The book had given the idea that it was one guy, then threw away suspicion from that character, but then it turned out to be him all along. It was frustrating. Almost frustrating enough to help her keep her mind off of Skips.

Speaking of the yeti, Michelle came back to the park just in time to see him uproot a tree stump with his bare hands. Her mouth was agape in astonishment and perhaps, even, fascination. Uprooting trees was one thing, uprooting stumps was a completely different story. (There was less to grab onto with a stump than with a whole tree.)

Michelle walked up to Skips and spoke to him just as he set the stump in the back of a pickup. "Hey, Skips," she said.

"Hey, Michelle, where were ya?" he asked while wiping the sweat from his brow.

"I was just spending my break at the library reading an old mystery."

"Who was the author?"

"Agatha Christie; though I prefer the mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle more often."

"Oh."

"What do you like to read?"

Skips shrugged. "I typically read books that help me learn things, like how to fix stuff."

"And you certainly know how to do that, huh?"

"Eh, not really. I still have some problems with computers."

"That's normal. I talk to a lot of people who have computer problems. I was lucky enough to catch the computer in its early stages of development, so I understand some of the coding pretty well. I mean, I can get around easy enough."

"But can you... fix a computer? Like, can you get rid of viruses or errors?"

"No way. That's a little bit too much for me. I was just talking about basic things like getting on the Internet and understanding certain algorithms, particularly the ones behind some web sites. The language is still pretty foreign in some respects though. I feel like a person who only knows enough words in a language to talk for five minutes."

There was a pause after that. Michelle toed the ground while Skips scratched the back of his neck. Neither knew what to do, really. Then, the answer came to them in the form of Benson. "Hey, Skips, we're having problems with the wiring in the house. Do you think you could fix it?" asked Benson.

"Oh, I love wiring! One of my late husbands taught me how to do some basic wiring in the home," said Michelle.

"Why don't you come with me then?" asked Skips.

"Sure, I finished everything else I had to do," said Michelle.

"Really? You finished _everything_?" asked Benson skeptically/condescendingly.

"You give me woman's chores, Benson. Perhaps if you gave me a man's chores, I'd be busy longer," said Michelle.

"Whatever, just get it done," said Benson, walking away.

Once he left, Skips and Michelle began heading for the house. They went to the breaker box in the basement and checked the wires that way. Skips flipped the main power off and Michelle, flashlight in hand, directed the beam at the box. Then, the wires were checked. There was a group of at least five wires that were cut off.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say these looked like they were _bitten _off," said Skips.

"You might be right, then," came a voice. Michelle and Skips turned around sharply. Michelle pointed the flashlight at the source of the voice and found Mr. Z standing there.

"Leave me alone," said Michelle.

"What song is on your mind right now?" asked Mr. Z, ignoring the request.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Of course not, because music is emotions and emotions can only be extended to people whom we trust." Mr. Z smiled his sharp-toothed smile.

Michelle's eyes immediately watered and she started sobbing. "I can't. Please don't make me do it."

Skips glared at Mr. Z. "You should leave." After he said this, the house started creaking loudly. The wires that had been bitten off buzzed with electricity and were mended. Lights flickered on and off and Skips headed upstairs to see if it was going on in other parts of the house. Michelle and Mr. Z followed, Michelle clutching her sides, still crying, and Mr. Z still smiling intimidatingly.

They wound up in the living room where Pops was huddled in a corner. "What's going on?" asked Skips.

"There are scary things going on with the house and the park," said Pops. Skips looked outside and noticed there were dark clouds and the wind was moving the trees really hard.

"Pops, we need to get everyone to the storm cellar, can you do that?" asked Skips. Pops nodded and shakily got up. Skips got supplies and soon, everyone was on their way to the storm cellar. The visitors of the park had since run home.

As they were on their way, Michelle collapsed to the ground on her knees. "It's happening! I can't believe it's really happening!" Mr. Z was laughing and seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Shut up!" said Michelle. She was shivering and clutching harder at her sides.

Renae and Skips came up to her. "Come on, Michelle," said Renae.

"I can't..." said Michelle. "My emotions are driving the environment to change. This happens sometimes... I don't even have to sing a note to influence things. Sometimes, it's all in how I feel."

"Well, you're not angry at anyone... right?" asked Renae.

"Get in the cellar. I'll be fine," said Michelle.

"If you're staying out here, then so am I," said Renae.

"That's a foolish gesture... even for a good friend." Michelle smiled and shakily stood up. "Mr. Z, I believe you wanted a song from me."

"One last song... before I die," said Mr. Z. "I recently got diagnosed with terminal cancer and I wanted to spend my last few months doing the things I love the most. Singing with you was one of those things."

"Really?" asked Michelle. The winds settled a bit, but the sky was still dark.

"What song would you sing if Adam were here right now? "

Michelle gave a short, bitter laugh. "Maybe he is here right now," she said sourly.

"Well then, perhaps something beautiful... like you." Michelle blushed a little. She had at least one particular song on her mind, among other songs.

It started to rain as she began. "_No, __I can't take one more step towards you, 'cause all that's waiting is regret... and don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore. You lost the love I loved the most. I've learned to live half alive and now you want me one more time. And who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart? You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So, don't come back for me. Who do you think you are?__  
_

"_I hear you're asking all around if I am anywhere to be found, but I have grown too strong to ever fall back in your arms and I've learned to live half alive and now you want me one more time... And who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart? You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul, so don't come back for me. Who do you think you are?_

"_And, dear, it took so long just to feel all right. Remember how to put back the lights in my eyes. I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed, 'cause you broke all your promises and now you're back. You don't get to get me back. And who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart? You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So, don't come back for me, don't come back at all. And who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart? You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. Don't come back for me, don't come back at all. Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are?_"_  
_

The winds stopped blowing so hard and the clouds cleared. During the song, they had been going wildly, but now, the day was back to a typical, calm summer day. Michelle looked around for Mr. Z, but he was gone.

What hadn't yet disappeared were the looks of awe from Renae and Skips. Michelle toed the ground bashfully and said, "I, uh... I've had a lot of guys go before me over the years... it's not fun."

"There's more to it than that though, isn't there?" asked Renae.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Michelle. The crisis had been averted... for now. It was time to get back to work... or in the case of Mordecai and Rigby, get back to slacking off.

The two idlers worked for nearly 15 minutes before going to the coffee shop. While Margaret wasn't working there anymore, there was a certain mole that still _was._ A certain mole that secretly had the heart of a certain raccoon. Yes, Rigby. He had always liked Eileen (the mole) as a friend, but had come to like her even more over the course of the years. She was nice, smart, and had a unique personality that Rigby liked. Their relationship had become even better when Eileen had given him chocolate-covered waffle cakes. _Those were the best... _Rigby thought as he had a smile on his face and drool coming out of his mouth onto the table.

"Rigby!" said Mordecai, punching his friend in the arm.

"Ow!" whined Rigby. Punching was a sure-fire way to snap the childish coon out of his reveries. "What?" he snapped.

"Dude, you totally spaced out again!"

"No, I wasn't."

"Yeah, you were. What do you even think about?"

The answer came up to their table. "Hi, guys, I brought your usual coffees. Would either of you like a sandwich to go with it?" asked Eileen.

"Yeah, sure, I'll take a sandwich, Eileen," said Rigby.

"Oh, cool, I'll have it out in a minute," said Eileen, walking away.

After she had gone, Mordecai's eyes widened in realization. He looked at his little friend to confirm his suspicions and noticed he was watching after the waitress, a look of contentment on his face. "Dude, you totally like Eileen!" said Mordecai.

"What?! No, I don't!" Rigby immediately rebuffed.

"Nah, you totally like her."

"What proof do you have that I... that I _might _like her?"

"Dude, the pancakes, the spacing out, coming to the coffee shop more, watching Eileen; face it, dude, you _like _her." Mordecai listed everything on his fingers. He had been told of some of these things prior to this day and the other things came together in that moment.

Rigby narrowed his eyes and stared at Mordecai. This would have gone on, but Eileen came up with his sandwich just then. "Here you go, Rigby," said Eileen, putting the sandwich on the table.

"Thanks, Eileen," said Rigby. He had said it a little sourly because of Mordecai, but there was a piece of his tone that was sincere. "I'm just gonna take my sandwich to go. _Some _people don't appreciate a little thing called privacy!" Rigby harshly grabbed his sandwich and coffee cup and left. Mordecai groaned at Rigby's childish behavior.

"See ya later, Eileen," said Mordecai, taking his coffee in one hand while using the other hand to shell out the bill and tip. He then left to follow Rigby.

Rigby, meanwhile, was sulking. He had his head hung low and was hunching over his sandwich while eating it. He threw his recently emptied cup into a trashcan and kept walking. As he was muttering and munching to himself, he ran into someone: Michelle.

"Hey, Rigby," said Michelle. She sounded weary.

"Hey, Mich- whoa! What happened to you?!" asked Rigby, noticing her.

"Oh, you know... electricity." Michelle had places in her feathers that were either singed or, at the very least, blackened. "It's been a while since I've last dealt with electricity..."

"Right..." Neither of them knew each other very well, so the conversation capabilities began dwindling.

"I sense you're having a problem. Is there anything I can do to help? In one of my past lives, I was a therapist for soldiers returning from the war who were trying to get back into a normal lifestyle. It was during that time that I experienced one of my worst relationships." Michelle shuddered at the thought.

"I'm good, thanks."

"Are you sure? You look like a guy who's trying to get something off his mind. In my experience, this either means you're in love with someone or it means that you're having a serious medical issue."

"Uh..."

"Come on, it can't be that bad."

"Well, I..." Rigby sighed. "Can we just go somewhere else to talk about this?"

"My office is open 24/7/365, give or take leap years and time zones." Rigby smiled slightly. It was the type of smile one gave to indicate they understood it was a joke and they were being polite by acknowledging its humor.

Michelle and Rigby went up the stairs of the house and, oddly enough, out the window onto the roof. Michelle sat down with her legs hugged close to her and Rigby sat beside her. He still had some of the sandwich in his hand and ate it absent-mindedly.

"So...?" asked Michelle with a small smile.

"All right. I guess... I guess I do like someone," said Rigby.

"Cool. Anyone I might know?" she asked, almost conspiratorially.

"Nah, I don't think you met her." He paused and Michelle waited for him to continue. "Her name's Eileen and she works at the coffee shop down the street."

"Hmm... Eileen... Eileen... oh, yes, now I think I recall the person. She's a mole with glasses, right?"

"Yeah, that's her. How do you know her?"

"She got lost in the woods one year and I helped her with some survival skills. She's a fast learner and very resourceful. She has also gone on and on about a guy she has a crush on."

"Oh," said Rigby, his head hanging low in disappointment.

"Dude, it's you. She has a crush on a raccoon named Rigby and, last I checked, you were both raccoon and Rigby in one."

"Really?"

"Dude, she's been giving some pretty obvious signals. I've given her some pointers on getting guys to notice her, but _somebody _didn't _notice_ very well. _Rigby..._"

"Okay, okay, I get the point. The problem is that I haven't been paying attention. I've... I've just never been interested in her like that until more recently. It just took time for me to realize what she really meant to me."

"If Eileen only knew, she'd be freaking out right now." Michelle shook her head, a wide smile on her face.

"Shut up..."

"No, I'm serious." She paused. "If the both of you like each other, but neither of you are willing to admit it because you both think it will ruin things, then someone else needs to make the move. I declare it is high time I throw another party... but not the rowdy type. More like the masquerade/costume ball type."

"A ball? Isn't that a little old-fashioned?"

"Old-fashioned is in the eyes of the beholder. I personally like grand dances like that. The costumes, the music, the lights, partner-to-partner, eye-to-eye, no one's who they really are because they all wear masks. _We _all wear masks..." An idea came to her then. "Yep, we're doing it." She got up and headed for the window.

"Wait, what?" asked Rigby, getting up to follow her.

"A ball. A masquerade ball. I'll talk to Benson about it right now. Plenty of the older, richer generation will pay through the nose for a party like this. Fancy, fancy. Yep, yep, yep. It's a done deal." They both left the roof through the window. Michelle did as she said she was going to. She went to Benson's office to talk to him about the ball. She made sure Pops was present for the proposal (to better seal the deal). Nearly an hour of negotiation later and she had her answer.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay. I got busy with other things. So, what does this have to do with anything? Will there be a ball? Will some romance happen? Most likely... most likely... but we shall have to wait and see. The song from earlier is "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri. I do not own the rights to it at all. Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)**


	10. Chapter 10: The Ball

Chapter 10: The Ball

Pops had been giddy at the idea of a ball. Benson made sure to get everything organized and soon, the employees got to work getting ready for Saturday evening (when the ball would take place). They had only a few days to get ready. Posters were handed out and the old ballroom was refurbished to cater to the dance. It all turned out looking really good. All that was left was for the ball to take place.

On the evening of the ball, a few hours prior to its commencement, Michelle was looking through her wardrobe for something to wear. "I can't believe you waited until the last minute to pick a dress," said Renae, already in a modest black dress.

"I can't believe you chose a dress that wasn't a ball gown to attend a masquerade ball," said Michelle, still sifting through her clothes.

"Not everyone goes to a ball and wears ball gowns, you know," said Renae.

"I don't care. It's a matter of principle. I feel that if you're not wearing a ball gown at a ball, you're cheating yourself," said Michelle.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go meet up with my date. Later."

"Later." It wasn't long after that when she heard footsteps coming up. They sounded like Renae's, so she said, "Did you forget something?"

"No, I just need some help still," came the voice of Rigby. Michelle turned around and saw the raccoon in a full-out suit with slicked-back hair.

"Wow, Rigby, you look great!" said Michelle.

"Thanks, but I'm really nervous. Do you think you could help me?"

"What do you need?"

"Well, I really want to impress Eileen at the dance, so, could you use your magic singing to help me out?"

"How do you figure my magic singing can help you?" She tried playing stupid since she didn't like where this was headed.

"Well, I saw how you can control things when you sing, so maybe you could control me into impressing her?"

"Controlling people is immoral and I try to stay away from it as much as possible."

"Please, Michelle, this has to work. Besides, if you do this for me, I'll totally owe you a solid."

Michelle laughed. "You have no idea what owing a solid to me can do to a person... but I accept. Step outside my room and let me change. Then, I'll follow you to the ball and explain the plan to you on the way."

"Okay." Rigby stepped out and Michelle went over to a trunk of magical things she had acquired throughout the years. From it, she pulled out what appeared to be a normal cane. She struck herself in the head with it and in a poof of smoke and sparkles, a ball gown appeared on her along with a mask. The ball gown was a light blue that was almost white. The mask was the same color. Both articles of clothing sparkled.

Michelle stepped out of her room then, cane in hand, and followed Rigby to the old ballroom. "All right, here's my plan. I'll control the crowd to make them separate, then, I'll draw the two of you together. You'll dance, have fun, and from there, who knows?" said Michelle.

"Thanks, Michelle, I really appreciate your help in this," said Rigby.

"At the party, I shall be addressed as 'The Blue Light' until midnight when the masks come off." They walked on for a little bit longer, but just outside the dance hall, Michelle noticed something. "Oh, no..."

"What? What is it?"

"Skips is with another girl."

"You don't have a date, do you?" Rigby asked after a pause.

"I can date anyone I wish. Tonight, I just don't wish to see anyone."

"Then why are you so worried about who Skips is dating?"

"They're dating?!" She cleared her throat. "I mean, I couldn't care less."

"Whatever." Rigby shrugged and the two went inside. Michelle went toward the DJ, but before Rigby was entirely out of her sight, she gave him a thumbs up. Michelle whispered something to the DJ and, when the current song had ended and everyone applauded, the DJ spoke.

"All right, all right, y'all havin' fun tonight?" asked the DJ in an upbeat voice. The crowd cheered in response. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, a special treat for you: The Blue Light is going to grace us with a song. Come on up, little lady." He brought a hand down and Michelle took it. She was hoisted onto the stage and as she got her footing, she was handed a microphone. She went to the center stage where a rope was lowered for her. She tied the rope around her foot and a spotlight watched her go up to the rafters. She made her way to the center chandelier and perched on it.

"This song is for all those girls out there that just need love in their lives, but aren't really succeeding in getting it," said Michelle. The music started and her voice sounded just as angelic as ever as she began: "_Party girls don't get hurt, can't feel anything. When will I learn? I push it down, push it down. One, two, three, one, two, three, drink. One, two, three, one, two, three, drink. One, two, three, one, two, three, drink. Throw 'em back 'til I lose count._" She stood up and began swinging the chandelier (which had lowered a little to allow this feat).

She continued, "_I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier. I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist, like it doesn't exist. I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry. I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier. But I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes. Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight. Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes. Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight, on for tonight._" Below her, many of the people were looking up, but Rigby and Eileen had a large space all to themselves and they danced together as the song went on. Soon, more people brought their eyes to them... just as Michelle had intended. Sure, she wanted to make the song literal by actually swinging from a chandelier, but she didn't want the attention to her, not really.

The song went on: "_Sun is up, I'm a mess. Gotta get out now, gotta run from this. Here comes the shame, here comes the shame. One, two, three, one, two, three, drink. One, two, three, one, two, three, drink. One, two, three, one, two, three, drink. Throw 'em back 'til I lose count. I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier. I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist, like it doesn't exist. I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry. I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier. But I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes. Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight. Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes. Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight, on for tonight, on for tonight. 'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight. Oh, I'm just holding on for tonight, on for tonight, on for tonight. 'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight. 'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight. Oh, I'm just holding on for tonight, on for tonight, on for tonight._"

Couples had danced to the song, holding each other close. Perhaps it was Rigby and Eileen who started it... or perhaps it was the desperation of a love-struck Michelle. The chandelier was still swinging as it lowered some more. Michelle leaped from an insane height, landed on her feet, and stood up just fine. On the chandelier, she had her heels off, so she went back to the stage to retrieve them.

Skips came up to Michelle. "That was really amazing, Michelle," he said.

"Oh, you noticed, did you?" Michelle asked, still breathing hard from the nerves and exertion.

"You're mad at me." It was an observation more than a question.

"No, I'm afraid I'm expressing an emotion more shallow and less justified than anger: Jealousy."

"Jealousy? Who are you jealous of?" His face showed the light of realization just after he asked the question. "You saw me with Sheena, didn't you?" Michelle's face was one of hurt and 'I can't believe you're treating me like this.' "Michelle, I don't like her like that. I've been catching up with her for old times' sake. We had parted on mutual terms. I brought her to the dance tonight because she wanted to go, but she felt like she couldn't go unless she had a date."

"That's not a terrible excuse... but that still doesn't explain how happy you two seem together."

"Of course, we're friends. Nothing more."

"Nothing more?" Skips nodded. "Really?" he nodded again.

"Michelle, perhaps you're right. Perhaps there is something going on between us."

"What are you saying?" she asked, her eyes darting about searchingly.

"Evangeline..." Michelle shivered at the use of her former name. "There's something about you. I didn't know what it was until tonight. I saw you, I learned your name and your past, and... I felt something. I'm not denying that... but, I just didn't know what it was. Just now, when you were swinging from the chandelier, I felt something in my heart that I haven't felt since Desdemona." He put out his hand. "Come on, let's go for a walk." Michelle took his hand and they walked out of the building.

It was a cold night. There was dew deep enough to hide their feet and the air was cold and wet. Michelle shivered, regretting not bringing a coat. Skips noticed. He took off his coat and draped it over Michelle's shoulders. The large garment was difficult to hold onto at first. She wrapped it around herself and hid her hands inside.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem," he replied. They kept walking until they reached a park bench some ways away from the dance hall. Skips invited Michelle to sit down and she did. He sat beside her and put an arm behind her. They both looked up at the night sky. The moon was a waning crescent and the stars were out shining brightly, despite the city. After some time in silence, Michelle sighed deeply. "What's wrong?"

Michelle laughed bitterly. "I don't trust you," she whispered. "I think you're just trying to cheer me up." She looked at Skips, her eyes already shining with un-shed tears. "It's more disappointing to know that you're being lied to than if you were just simply rejected."

"I'm not rejecting you, Michelle... and I'm also not lying to you," said Skips quietly.

"Then, what is this?"

"A confession." Michelle looked at him strangely. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

Michelle started crying. "Skips, this isn't funny. I've had a crush on you for over 200 years. If you're not being truthful about this, I will hurt you." Skips laughed a little. "I'm not joking. I've brought down creatures twice your size and half your wit."

"I don't doubt it. When you're immortal, you face plenty of monsters." Skips paused. "One monster I have never really been able to face is my own heart. I fell in love with Desdemona and I thought she was everything. She _was, _at the time. When she died, I felt a hole in my heart. Part of it was because I couldn't save her and part of it was because I lost her. She was my first love and, while nothing can replace that fact, I can look at today and say truly that I have found someone better."

Michelle pulled the coat tighter around her small frame. "Walks, _you _were my first love. What of that?"

Skips sighed. "Heh, I don't really know what to do here."

"Me neither." They both assumed their nervous habits: Skips scratching the back of his head and Michelle toeing the ground. "Well, let's narrow this down. We'll ask each other very basic questions to determine if we're truly attracted to each other. If not, we can move on."

"What kind of questions were you thinking about?"

Michelle shrugged and thought on it. She asked, "Am I attractive to you?"

"Michelle, I- I mean, this is-" Skips was getting a little flustered.

"No, come on, answer the question. Of course, I could answer the question from my perspective on you first if it'd make you feel better."

"No, Michelle, I just... no one's ever really asked me before." Michelle nodded and urged him on with a smile. That helped him to loosen up a little. He smiled as well. "All right. Yes, you are very attractive to me. I like how you're shaped and I like the way your eyes light up sometimes... you have different smiles, you know."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, I like those smiles."

"So, we've narrowed down that you think I'm attractive. Now, my turn. If you had asked me, I would have replied with: 'Well, duh! You're the most naturally built guy I've ever seen!' Seriously though, I appreciate guys who keep themselves fit and strong. I like those few times when _you _smile. You don't do it nearly enough."

"Yeah, well... I guess I haven't had many reasons to smile." Michelle smiled and Skips found himself smiling back.

"All right, then I guess the next question is: Do you like being around me? Is my personality compatible enough with yours?"

"That's two questions, Michelle."

Michelle playfully shoved him. "Whatever. Just answer the question."

Skips thought about it. He thought about the time he had spent with her recently. He had really liked being with her... more than anyone else in 200 years, he realized. "You're very unique, Michelle and you're a lot of fun to be around."

Michelle smiled. "I like being with you because of a few reasons. One of them is that you have an inner strength that nearly exceeds your physical strength. I like that kind of trait. There's also your kindness toward your friends, your courage in the face of danger, and a sweetness that isn't found unless someone gets to know you well. I mean, I really think that if you were- if we were- I think you know what I mean though, don't you?"

"I got the gist." Skips smiled again. Michelle laughed in a carefree way. "Hey, do you want to go somewhere else?" he asked, getting up and offering her his hand.

"Sure," she replied, accepting it. The two didn't go far. They went to the park house where they finally removed their masks. They stood in front of the house and found themselves swaying to an unheard tune. Michelle began humming and, before long, they both heard the faint strings of an orchestra playing the tune. They held each other close and knew from then on, it would be different between them.

They kept dancing, even after the bell in the clock tower struck midnight. On the 12th chime, they looked into each other's eyes. More might have happened, had not Renae come up to them.

"Hey, you guys are missing an awesome party. You should come back," said Renae.

Michelle sighed and reluctantly pulled away. Skips remained by her side. They both followed Renae back to the dance hall. Apparently, their friends had wondered where they had gone. When the answers were deemed unexciting, Skips and Michelle were left alone, but not before Rigby and Eileen came to Michelle to say something.

"Hey, Michelle, thanks for this," said Rigby.

"Yeah, it's a really great party," said Eileen.

Michelle nodded and smiled. "It was the least I could do. Everyone deserves a chance to be loved," said Michelle. She felt Skips's hand on hers and she turned to see his eyes looking into hers. It was the first time she noticed just how striking his eyes looked. They were unlike any other eyes she had ever seen. She smiled at Skips and he returned it. Michelle wrapped her arms around Skips's neck and he wrapped his arms about her waist. "Why don't we give this a shot?" asked Michelle.

"I'd like that," said Skips. The two leaned into each other and slow-danced together, just simply enjoying each other. Little did they know how little time they had left to do this. The infection was still inside Michelle and there didn't seem to be an end in sight. It would take a magic much stronger than Adam's to free her. While it lasted, Michelle still had time to enjoy herself, even with the pain inside.

_I want to kiss him, but that would be out of place, especially if he didn't want it... _thought Michelle. Just then, Skips gently kissed her cheek and pulled away, heading elsewhere. Michelle brought up a hand to where the kiss was. Her cheek was already growing hot from thinking about it. _Now I want more, _she thought. _I know just how to get there too. How hard could it be?_

* * *

**I like Rigleen. Just to get that out of the way. I am coming to like Mordecai and CJ more, but I still feel like Margaret is more likely. I mean, they never got that close, but it felt more real. IDK. Anyway, I have to get to the romance soon. There's already been too much hurt/comfort to last me a little bit :( The song is "Chandelier" by Sia. I do not own the rights to it at all. I do wish that the music video was someone actually swinging from a chandelier at a party though. That would have made much more sense :P Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)**


	11. Chapter 11: The Loser

Chapter 11: The Loser

Michelle was lying on the floor with her feet on the couch. She had water on the table and a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She felt sick. There wasn't any denying it. The infection was ripping at her insides and making her nauseous. She and Skips had been dating for two weeks now. The heat of summer was still evident, but there were gloomy, cold days that betrayed the oncoming cold seasons of fall and winter.

Skips came into the living room and sat on the couch. He ran a hand up and down her leg, trying to comfort her. "Don't do that," said Michelle. "I think it might be getting me excited."

Skips rolled his eyes playfully. "Everything I do gets you excited," he said.

"This is true." Her right hand was holding the cloth to her head and her left hand was clutching her stomach. "It's not going away and I'm afraid to go any further than this."

"Come here, let me try something." He helped her into his lap. He had her face away from him while he tried certain pressure points. She tensed a few times before running upstairs to the bathroom to throw up. Skips came after her and petted her back soothingly.

"I think you're losing your touch, Skips," she said sarcastically after she finished. She shakily got up, flushed the toilet, and threw water in her face. She was visibly shaky, particularly in her arms and legs. Skips brought one of her arms over his shoulder and helped her to her bed down the hall.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you," he said after he had the blankets over her.

She shivered and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm just so used to being able to fix stuff... it's kinda disconcerting." Michelle laughed and coughed harshly. She shivered harder and brought the blankets up further. Skips put a hand to her forehead and felt how warm it was. "Hang on, I'm gonna get some things." Skips went off to get a bucket, a fresh wet cloth, and fresh water. He came back up and put the bucket beside Michelle on the floor, the cloth on her forehead, and the water on her nightstand. He sat on the bed next to her and she gave a red-eyed glance at him.

"Why are you here?"

"Michelle, I want to help-"

"Michelle doesn't like being helped when she's sick," came the voice of Renae, who had entered the room with a cream-filled doughnut in her hands.

Michelle groaned. "Go away, Renae," she said.

"Why? I thought you didn't get sick," said Renae.

"Shut up," said Michelle, too sick to get up and punish her for her snipping. To Skips, she said, "Some time ago, I said I never got sick. It was a generalization on my part. It wasn't two weeks after I said that when I got sick and Renae wouldn't leave me alone. It's been like that since."

"All right, all right, out," said Skips, guiding Renae out.

"Fine, fine," said Renae. "I'll sleep downstairs until Michelle's better. It's not like I care." Skips closed the door on Renae and went back over to Michelle. The bird in question had her hands in her face, exasperated.

"It'll be okay," said Skips comfortingly.

"Yeah, whatever," replied Michelle. Her mood had drastically declined upon becoming sick.

"I'm going to be with you as much as possible. You'll get through this."

"That's what people say when they themselves are in a state of doubt."

Michelle didn't hold high hopes for her recovery. Skips didn't either, but he did at least have hope. It turns out, hope reaches people better when more than one person is hoping.

Upon the next morning, Michelle was in a coma. Skips didn't know what to do (and that was a rare thing for him). He dialed a number on his phone and called Gary, thinking he might be able to help.

Gary came out of the sky in his El Camino. He wore a white suit this time. He followed Skips to Michelle's bedroom. There, Michelle was asleep and looking very pale, but nonetheless beautiful. Gary put a hand to her forehead and came to a conclusion: "The infection inside her has spread to her mind. It is corrupting her memories and instilling fear in her."

"Is there anything that can be done?" asked Skips.

"No normal methods can be used to help her," replied Gary.

"Well, what about abnormal methods?"

"There is a way."

"How?"

"We can travel into her subconscious and fight the infection that way. It's the only way I'm familiar with in which she will live through." Skips sighed. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Skips nodded. "Very well." He snapped his fingers and they disappeared from the room.

The world they showed up in was a strangely familiar one. They stood in what looked like a lobby. There was a woman typing on a computer at a desk. She was a Caucasian with a boy's haircut. The color of her hair matched Michelle's feathers. Her suit was a woman's business suit that was gray with a white shirt. She didn't take her eyes off the keyboard nor her fingers as she said, "Skips and Gary?"

"Yes," replied the two together.

"Head through the door on my right for memories or the door to my left for dreams," said the woman. Skips and Gary went to the door for memories. "A word of warning, gentlemen... Evangeline is a hurt individual because of her memories. What do you think that will make you?"

"Thank you for your concern, madam, but that's not what we're here for," said Gary.

"Very well." The woman took a key from her hair, turned it in a mechanism, and with a hissing sound, the door dragged open as if being run by old metal gears. "Good luck." Skips and Gary stepped through the door. They fell into a river and sunk deeply into it. They had to swim up so that they wouldn't drown. When they made it to the surface, they found a little girl sitting on the bank of the river. She looked like a young Michelle of about ten years old. She was plucking petals off of a flower and tossing them into the river. She had a sad expression on her face. Then, she looked over at the two.

"Who are you two?" she asked with an adorable British accent. Gary and Skips both looked around, sure that she was talking to somebody else. "Yes, I'm talking to you two in the river." Skips and Gary swam to shore and, once they saw the girl was indeed talking to them, Skips brought a hand down for her to shake.

"I'm Skips," he said as the girl shook his hand. "This is Gary," he pointed to his friend, who also shook the girl's hand.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Evangeline. I know that you aren't giving me your real names since you're Walks and you're Gareth," she said pointing to the two in order of introductions.

"How did you know that?" asked Skips.

She giggled. "Silly goose, I am Evangeline's consciousness, the innocence that keeps her a good person. I know why you're here too. You're here to help fight that meanie, Adam. After all, he and the infection are linked together."

"Do you know where he is?" asked Skips.

"I do. He is corrupting good memories of times with you so that when Evangeline wakes up, she'll see you as an enemy. He is also mending bad memories of him by making them good memories. If mending is what it is to be called," young Evangeline replied, frustrated. "Come along, then." She waved for them to follow her and she took them to a house in the distance. She went through the door and Skips and Gary followed her. They immediately turned around and went back out the same door.

"This is the memory of the day everyone Evangeline cared about got killed. It was the day she left Adam," said the little girl. "Look at that! Adam is crying over little Abigail's body. That's not what happened!"

"No, indeed," came a reply in a dark voice.

"Walks..." little Evangeline squeaked as she hugged his leg.

"Why your subconscious is a weak little girl is beyond me," it was Adam. He came toward them in a different form. His top half was the same, but his bottom half was red and black ooze. There was a sound of boiling oil as he moved. To Skips, he said, "What say do you have in Evangeline's memory anyway? You have no magic."

"I do," said Gary. He opened his hand in Adam's direction and shot out a blast of energy. Adam was taken aback and hissed his discontent. He went off and Gary repaired the memory to go back to the way it was. Skips watched a shocked Evangeline witness her daughter being murdered. Everything was just as she said... and far worse. Little Evangeline hid behind Skips's leg, crying. Skips went into the room with Evangeline, looking at her expression and looking at the girl in the bed. "This memory is repaired. We should move on." Skips sadly moved on. Little Evangeline closed the door to the room, then re-opened it to another location.

"This is the memory of when Evangeline first fell in love with you, Walks," said little Evangeline with a blush on her face. It was night-time and they saw Evangeline walking up to a weeping Walks. Skips gasped. He remembered this night. Desdemona had just died and he was going to attend her funeral on Sunday, which had been the following day. He had been devastated, but he certainly wasn't recalling Michelle's presence there.

"Young man, why are you crying?" asked the past Evangeline. Her British accent had faded, but was still somewhat evident.

"I just lost someone I cared for very much," replied the past Walks.

"Well, then, why not let me help you? I am quite good at forgetting the dead."

"What if, pray tell, I do not want to forget?"

"I can help with that too. I can help you move on."

The past Walks finally looked up at the one addressing him. The past Evangeline gave a smile. "I have a friend with a farm that could use some work. He is too slothful to even look for workers himself. Perhaps you would like to?" she asked.

"You say it will help me move on?" asked the past Walks, standing.

"Work oftentimes keeps one's mind off of things one would rather forget... at least, that is what I am told."

"Where does this friend live?"

"I shall take you there. It is naught but a short walk from here."

"Thank you, miss...?" He asked as they started walking.

"I shan't give you my name now. We have been acquainted twice before and I still do not make a mark upon your memory. Why is this?"

"Did you give your name then either? Beg pardon, miss, but I truly do not remember you."

Past Evangeline looked at him up and down, as if searching for a lie. She let out a sigh. "I believe you. That does not change my mind though."

They walked on for a bit, then past Walks asked, "Would it make you more comfortable if I told you my name?"

Past Evangeline laughed. "And what if, pray tell, I already know it?"

"Then you shall know it again. My name is Walks."

She smiled. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Walks."

As Skips, Gary, and little Evangeline watched, they searched for any sign of Adam. They didn't see him until they saw something strange in the bushes. "Oh, my! A snake!" cried out past Evangeline.

"It is naught but a small garter snake, miss. We shall be fine to simply pass over him," said past Walks.

"No, it isn't!" cried out little Evangeline. Just then, the snake came up in an attack. Skips subdued the snake while Gary changed the memory.

The new memory showed Walks not just acknowledging the snake was there, but also that it wasn't just a garter snake. It was a rattlesnake! He took it in his hands and headed for the bushes. He returned unharmed.

"Walks! What happened to the snake?" asked past Evangeline.

"I killed it," replied past Walks.

"With your bare hands?"

"Aye."

There was a pause. "Well, thank you, Walks. I see you truly are a gentleman."

"What did you think I was before?" Evangeline replied by giving him a playful shove. Walks replied with another shove. The contest went on until Walks shoved too hard and the two wound up on the ground.

"Oh, beg pardon, miss, I did not mean to-"

"Walks... do you ever notice how bright the stars can be sometimes?"

Walks got off of her and onto the grass on his back. Then, Evangeline jumped on top of him. He was surprised to say the least. They laughed a little. "Why is it I cannot remember you from before?"

"I regret to say it is my fault. It is all so that everything may be preserved. The natural order is not ready for this. I have agreed to wait as long as it takes."

"You cannot possibly live forever though."

Evangeline gave a sad smile and replied, "I must make you forget again. I am too much of a nuisance in the lives of others to become one on yours as well."

"What are you not telling me, miss?"

Evangeline smiled. "It does not matter. Perhaps I shall see you again in a few years. I shall be observing your progress in the meanwhile." With that, she took out the necklace she was wearing and showed the gem to Walks. The gem shone brightly for a moment. During that moment, Walks was mesmerized by it. When it faded, he seemed dazed. Evangeline picked him up carefully and guided him along.

"That was how you got your job at the farm. From there, it became another thing entirely," said little Evangeline.

"Michelle made me forget everything... to protect me?" asked Skips.

"One might say that. One might also say she did it because she didn't want to fall in love at the time. It might have been better for her if it had turned out that way... but I suppose we'll never know," said little Evangeline. She took Skips by the hand and guided them to a tree. They went around the tree a few times before winding up elsewhere.

It was the park. The year was 1879. Skips knew this because of the park house being built and the park ground looked especially fresh. It had come a long way since its groundbreaking in 1876.

"Where is Mi- Evangeline in this memory?" asked Skips.

"She really does like it when you call her Evangeline, you know," said little Evangeline with a giggle. She said no more as she ran off.

Skips ran after her yelling, "Wait! Stop!" Gary followed Skips through the park. Just as they were catching up to her, they saw Adam ahead, making his way to a past Skips. Little Evangeline tried to intervene, but was swatted away. The memory got fuzzy a moment before it got _really bad. _Gary wasted no more time in righting the memory.

The righted memory took place at about the same time Skips had changed the wheel on the carriage of the park owners: Mr. Maellard and his fiance. The past Skips reached for the new wheel, but when he looked around, he found it gone. He scratched his head in confusion. "Pardon me, young man, but is this yours?" It was the past Evangeline speaking.

"Oh, thank you, miss...?" the past Skips asked, just as before.

"I shan't give my name. It would only stay with you and make it harder for you to forget me."

"Would it put your mind at ease if I told you my name?"

"What if I already know it?"

"Then you are about to be re-acquainted with it. My name is Walks." He changed the wheel and set the carriage going again.

Past Evangeline had been looking at the couple in the carriage and finally commented to the past Walks, "You know, Walks, if they do are not wed within the year, I shall be very much surprised. 'Tis a shame that love shall become corrupt with vanity though." She sighed. "Ah, well, 'tis life's way, I suppose."

"Aye."

There was a silence before past Evangeline broke it. "Well, then, I shan't have you remembering me. 'Tis not time yet."

"Time for what, pray tell?"

"Time for anything." She took out her necklace and the effects were the same. She took the dazed man to the shade of a tree and said, "You know, Walks, you really ought to have your name changed. It hardly makes sense to call you Walks when you always skip." She said it with a little contempt in her voice. "Ah, well... it is time I move on. Fare thee well, Walks." She left.

"We have one memory left, but I'm afraid it shall be a bit more painful than anyone would care to see," said little Evangeline.

"Take us there," said Skips resolutely.

"Very well," said little Evangeline. She took them around a tree and they found themselves in the park. It was raining... it was recent... it was the night Skips saved Michelle from suicide and confessed to Skips. "This is the turning point, you know. If it hadn't been for you, she might have lost all hope, along _with _her life."

Skips and Gary followed the past Michelle inside, but, instead of the same memory, they were shifted elsewhere. Adam appeared in a huge monstrous form. "ENOUGH! I am the ruler of her fate! I am the one who is supposed to be with her! 231 years have passed, but she is still my wife! What say you to that, intruder?" he asked, referring to Skips. The yeti replied by charging him. He missed and Adam laughed. "Do you really think you are a match for me? In here, I am stronger than I am out there! I am everything that no one wants, but everyone craves: fear."

"What made you this way? You can't have always been like this!" said Skips.

"No, but I was just a young man, forced into a marriage I didn't want. Then, I had a child I didn't want. Fear came to me and offered me a job, but I would have to inflict fear upon the one who was closest to me. That person at the time was my wife. It is a curse, yes, but it is also a _blessing. _Haven't you ever wanted to decide someone's fate? Now, while I cannot write someone's fate, I cannot decide where they'll end up, nor can I bring about opportunities to bring them in the _right _direction. I am the influence who brings them in the _wrong _direction. You have no idea how pleasurable it is to screw with someone's fate! Mortals are push-overs, swayed easily by fear, but you immortals are the fun ones. You challenge me and make this existence bearable. I thank you for that. Now, I must finish what I've started. Watch the memory closely, Skips. Watch it and know that there is nothing you can do about it." He laughed and faded away.

The memory was back. Michelle was outside, knife in hand and looking very sad. Skips pulled his hair. This was more nerve-wracking than that night. While Michelle wouldn't really die, she would think that she had... if that was how this worked. Skips came forward and tried to stop her, but he went right through her.

"These are memories. You can't influence memories unless you're magic," said little Evangeline.

Skips looked at Gary desperately. "I'm trying, Skips, but my magic isn't working as well as it was before. Adam might be stronger than me," said Gary. There was a loud laughter heard and they looked to the top of the park house. Adam was there, looming over them.

"This will not stand," said Skips, his tone determined. He gave a running start, then jumped for Adam. The spirit of Fear knocked him away.

"Is that the best you can do?" asked Adam.

"Skips! My dreams often collide with memories. Concentrate and you'll see them!" said little Evangeline.

"How does that help me?" asked Skips.

"Dreams are magic, Skips! You can defeat even your greatest fear in dreams," replied little Evangeline. Then, a large knife appeared in the air. Skips grabbed a hold of it, but it was hard to keep up since it was heavy. He lugged it toward Adam. Adam laughed again.

"Come on!" Adam made the gesture with his fingers. Skips let out a battle cry as he jumped and sliced at Adam. The knife got absorbed by Adam, making him bigger. "You fool! Nightmares are fears! You can't defeat me that way!"

"Look!" called out little Evangeline. They all looked and saw many images of green and what appeared to be memories. "This is when she saw her life go before her eyes. Grab the memories!" Skips jumped up and grabbed the memories. He hurled them at Fear and, because they were good memories and because they were coming at him so quickly, he began shrinking. It was working! Adam fell onto the ground in front of the house. Michelle had the knife to herself. There wasn't much time left.

"Now what?!" asked Skips.

"Throw me!" said little Evangeline.

"What?!"

"It'll be okay! Just do it!" Skips came forward, picked up the little girl, and chucked her at Adam. A bright light appeared and Adam shrunk down until he was in a normal form.

"He's weakened! Gary, right the memory!" said Skips.

"I'm on it," said Gary. The memory was righted and Skips watched as he stopped the attempt and the two went inside to talk.

Adam groaned from the ground. He shakily stood up and tried to move forward, but he only succeeded in falling. "Why did you have to throw her subconscious at me? Don't you know that's where all of a person's courage comes from?" he asked.

"I do now," said Skips. Gary laughed and Adam snarled at it. Then, Adam began laughing again. It was weak laughing, but it was laughing nonetheless. "What do you have to laugh at now? You lost!"

"Oh, really? If I am the loser, then why is it that I feel so much like the winner? After all, isn't it curious you haven't met Michelle in here?" asked Adam.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Skips. Adam didn't answer. Skips pulled the man up by his collar and said, "Tell me."

Adam laughed. "I gain power through fear. Nightmares are fears. Just what do you think is going on with Michelle's dreams right now?" he asked. He answered his own question. "She's having a _nightmare._" He laughed again. "So, unless you think you can defeat me before I get there, you're sorely out of luck." His form melted and made its way into the distance. Skips ran after it and Gary followed. The ooze went past the park gate and disappeared. The pursuit was on.

Once past the gate, they were back in the lobby. The ooze made its way down to the other door, but found it couldn't get through the cracks. "Do you have a ticket to get in?" asked the woman at the desk. Adam responded by thrusting a part of him at the woman, taking her key, turning it in the lock, and going in. "Well!" Skips and Gary followed Adam into the dreams.

Adam found himself reduced to his common form again. The robin was frustrated with himself. "I am truly useless," he said angrily. Skips, Gary, and he were in a large black space, floating. "Where are we anyway?"

"My dream," came a response in the distance. The one who spoke came forward and they all recognized her as Michelle. Unlike them, she appeared to be walking on solid ground. She had the feathers on the top of her head dyed pink on the ends and she had a summer dress and a flowery, pink apron on. There were bags under her eyes and she looked more like she was in her late 30's then her early 20's.

"No! This is impossible! You were having a nightmare! I felt it!" protested Adam.

"Yeah, well, with all the conflict going on in my head, how couldn't I have a nightmare? It's all over now though. Besides, all that happened was the usual ending: Skips comes in and saves the day, then we run into the sunset together, hand in hand," said Michelle with a smile.

There was a roaring and banging in the distance. Michelle turned to it, looking nervous. "It sounds like another nightmare coming," said Adam.

"I'm sure it's nothing," said Michelle quickly. The banging and roaring only got louder. Michelle turned to the group. She was smiling slightly, but fear was still evident in her eyes. Then, the thing that was making the noise came forward and started coming at them full force.

"Now, _that's _a nightmare!" said Adam, pleased. He tried moving toward it, but was held in place. "What is going on?!"

"My dream, my rules," said Michelle, her voice strained. She was obviously holding him back somehow. The creature still came.

"Aren't you afraid?! _FEAR ME!_" said Adam. Michelle shuddered and collapsed. Adam came forward and started running toward the beast. Skips and Gary became level with Michelle as well.

"I haven't much strength left. You must help me. I'm only being able to prolong the monster's coming. I cannot stop it," said Michelle.

"There has to be something that can be done," said Skips insistently.

Michelle got up, panting. "There is. Skips, are you ready to make my dream come true?" He gave her a confused look at first before she pulled him forward and locked him into a kiss. It was a strange kiss, being lips to beak and all, but it was a kiss nonetheless. Skips brought her closer and she held onto him.

Suddenly, things weren't as they were. When Michelle pulled away from the kiss, Skips found himself in shining metal armor. Michelle giggled like a little girl and looked at him with shining eyes. She liked what she saw. Skips looked for a weapon and saw a sword in a hilt. While he had no shield, he doubted he needed one. "Good luck, Sir Skips," Michelle said, excitement in her voice. Skips smiled and charged toward the monster. He soon passed Adam in his not so progressive progress.

"NO!" called out Adam. Skips leaped toward the monster and, in one slash of his mighty blade, beheaded the monster. The nightmare was over. Adam fell to the ground, reeling in pain. "This... isn't over... you cannot destroy fear..." he said.

"No, but we can overcome it," said Skips. He made a stab for Adam, but Adam vanished before he could make a wound. Adam appeared at the other end of the dreamscape. He opened the door and left. Skips made to go after him, but was stopped by Michelle.

"He's gone from my mind now. There's no need to chase after him. He will probably try one more time, but that is for another day," said Michelle. "Skips, I consider this a win. Death has banned him from me physically and now you have banned him from me mentally. I thank you for that."

"So, does that mean you'll wake up now?" asked Skips.

"Only one way to find out..." Michelle leaned forward as if to kiss him, but got away just as Skips's eyes closed. He almost fell forward, making Michelle laugh. "Why don't you stop dreaming and kiss the real thing, Skips?" She walked off.

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, a dream is starting. If you hurry, you might be able to get a seat." Michelle winked just as a door appeared in front of her. She opened it to a bright light. "See you on the outside." She winked again and the door closed behind her. The door was still there and it said, "_Michelle's Greatest Dream_" on its front. Skips lingered for a moment, curious.

"I guess you'll never know," came a voice. It was little Evangeline again. "I have my orders to not let anyone on the outside see the dream. I'm sure if you ask, she'd tell you though." She giggled and grabbed his hand, leading him to the door out of the dream world. From there, they were in the lobby. "This is as far as I can go. I think you two can let yourselves out. I'm not being pushy, but it would be bad to be in here while Michelle's awake, because then you can't get out until the next time she falls asleep."

"Thank you for helping us," said Skips.

"It's kinda what I do," the little one replied with a wink. "Now, go on, get outta here." She smiled and Skips and Gary left Michelle's subconscious through the front door.

Skips and Gary returned to the real world, gasping for air. Skips went to Michelle's side and saw color returning. She would wake soon. He smiled as he leaned in and kissed her lips, just as Prince Charming did for Briar Rose. Michelle woke up, shocked at first, but soon kissed back. She brought up her arms and wrapped them around his neck, deepening the kiss. He pulled away and the two panted a little from how long they held on.

Michelle smiled. "My hero," she said, glee in her tired tone.

Skips blushed. "Ah, it was nothin,' " he said. He picked her up and put her in his lap. She still had a hold of his neck with her arms.

"It's never gonna be normal for us, is it?"

"Probably not, but the best thing we can do for that is to try and enjoy the moments that are normal." Michelle looked off and it was obvious that something was on her mind. "What is it?"

"Adam will come back. I'm sure of it. He'll try to take away someone I truly care about."

"I'm not going anywhere, Michelle, you know that."

"Actually, I wasn't talking about you." Michelle didn't have premonitions, but Adam had told her he was going to take someone away from her, someone more precious and dear to her than Skips. It was set in her mind to do everything she could to stop it.

* * *

**Yeesh. It never quits, does it? Sorry about the length of the chapter. I had to fit everything in and leave it at a nice place. I couldn't bear to leave this one on too much of a cliffhanger. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)**


	12. Chapter 12: The Engagement

Chapter 12: The Engagement

Michelle put the needle on the record. When the buzzing of the nothingness stopped and the music began, Michelle let out a happy sigh, almost as if she were relieved. She twirled around in a large gown. There were many things she missed about the old days sometimes. This was just one of those days. "Come on, Skips, it will be fun," she said.

Skips was sitting on his bed, still admiring how nice Michelle looked in a dress. They were in his home on lunch. Michelle had made them sandwiches and it might have been a simple indoor picnic had not Michelle noticed the record player. She had then insisted that they dance. She had put on an old dress and was now waiting for Skips to join her in reminiscing.

"All right, you've convinced me," said Skips, a smile on his face. He went up to the attic and put on an old suit of his. He came back down and was received with a look of admiration from Michelle. He put his hands about her and they began dancing across the floor to the music.

"I'm surprised tailors made suits big enough for you," Michelle teased playfully.

"I'm surprised tailors were able to make something to fit such a heavenly figure," Skips replied. To that, Michelle blushed.

"It's nice to finally dance."

"You say that like we haven't done this before."

Michelle playfully punched him in the arm and said, "You know we haven't. We've just been... busy."

"Mm, yes, between work and social activities, our lives have been pretty much booked."

"It's nice to finally have some time alone." She put her head on Skips's broad chest and sighed happily. Skips rested his chin atop her head. It was a moment worth taking in, especially for how short it lasted.

There was a knock on the door. Skips sighed and went to answer the door as Michelle went to the record player to pull the needle out of the grooves and shut it off. The person at the door turned out to be Rigby. "Skips! Skips! We need your help!" said Rigby frantically.

Michelle had come up behind Skips at this point and asked, "You didn't dare Mordecai to do something stupid, did you?"

"No... I might have maybe made a bet with him... maybe," said Rigby. He fidgeted, showing the signs of nervousness and fibbing. Michelle rolled her eyes and Skips sighed deeply. "It's not what you think though!"

"All right, what is it?" asked Skips.

"You know those tough-looking guys who come to the park to practice playing for their band sometimes?"

"Oh, no..." said Michelle.

"Look, all I did was bet him that he wouldn't be able to talk to them without turning into paste. It turns out that they're getting along and Mordecai's acting all different ever since he first talked to them," said Rigby.

"You fool!" said Michelle.

"I know they're a rough group, but they seem relatively harmless to me," said Skips.

"Unless I'm mistaken, Mordecai just got himself immersed in black magic," said Michelle. She went inside and grabbed her magic cane from its place leaning against the wall.

"What do you intend to do?" asked Skips.

"Whatever I have to," Michelle replied. They got outside and started heading on their way, but a cloud of smoke appeared. When it cleared, an old man in dirty robes stood in the midst. "Sensei," Michelle said, performing a formal bow that students do for their masters.

"Come, today is the day," said the Sensei.

"Ugh, now, really?" asked Michelle.

"If you do not come now, you forfeit your chance of becoming a master of the White Crane Style," said the Sensei.

Michelle groaned again, longer this time. She shoved her cane at Skips. "Take this. I have to go. I've already invested so much time into this, I don't want to back out now. After all, after this, I'll only have one more style left to learn before I am a master of Shaolin boxing." With that, a cloud of smoke appeared, taking Michelle and the Sensei with it.

"Uh... okay...?" Skips said. She had vanished so suddenly, he hadn't a chance to say anything to her.

Rigby and Skips made their way to the tough-looking guys. Mordecai was indeed among them, wearing their garb as well as their mean expressions. Rigby was the first to try to reason with Mordecai, but he was greeted by a rough punch to the face. His nose started gushing blood immediately. He never could take any of Mordecai's punches.

"Mordecai, stop this," said Skips, holding up the cane. He had no idea how to use the object Michelle had given him, but was perfectly prepared to improvise.

"Or what?" asked one of the guys.

"He'll pull out a can of magic on you!" said Rigby.

"Magic, huh? For your information, old man, we _rule _in magic. The only way you could possibly defeat us is if you had magic touched by a Siren," said the same guy.

"What an uncanny coincidence then," said Skips. He brought the cane up, then whipped it downward. A blast shot out of the cane. It hit the guy straight in the chest.

"Ugh," he groaned. He had been knocked down, and as he rose, he spit out blood from his mouth and asked cockily, "Is that the best you got?"

"Not by a long shot," said Skips, whipping the cane down again, yielding more magic from it. The battle was on. Black magic versus the magic within the cane. It wasn't long before Skips managed to get past the others to reach Mordecai. He blasted magic at him and Mordecai fell.

Rigby gasped. "Mordecai!" He ran to his friend's side. The other guys with black magic retreated. They had already lost. Skips came to Mordecai's side and put a hand on the bird's forehead, then, over his nostrils. Mordecai was alive.

A portal appeared beyond them. Michelle walked out of it and came up to them. "Well, it would appear you were successful. Congratulations are in order," she said, coming up to them. She shook Skips's hand and took the cane away from him.

"Can you wake Mordecai up, Michelle?" asked Rigby.

"I think I can," replied Michelle. She put the cane in Mordecai's face. The end facing him began glowing blue. Then, it faded away as Mordecai opened his eyes. He gagged a little before sitting up.

"What happened?" Mordecai asked with a groan.

"It doesn't matter, you're safe now," said Michelle.

"Wait a minute... I won the bet!" said Mordecai.

"What?!" asked Skips and Michelle simultaneously.

"Yeah, Rigby bet that I couldn't talk to them without getting beat up by them, which, I didn't, so ha!" Mordecai poked Rigby in the chest.

"Yeah, well, whatever. It was a stupid bet anyway," said Rigby, crossing his arms and turning away.

"Oh, no, you have to live up to your end of the bargain," said Mordecai.

"And just what was the bargain?" asked Michelle, giving the two boys "the look."

"I won, so Rigby has to-" Mordecai had his beak clamped by Rigby's hands before he could continue.

"Dude, don't say it!" said Rigby. He pulled his arms away, but Mordecai only laughed.

"Whatever, dude. I'm still gonna make sure you do it."

"I- I don't want to."

"Dude, I won, just do it and we can be done here."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Rigby, it can't be that bad," she said.

"Well, actually... I haven't kissed Eileen yet," said Rigby.

Michelle shrugged. "That's okay. Relationships take time," she said.

"Yeah, but, as much as I really want to, I didn't want to do it too soon," said Rigby.

"When do you have to kiss her?" asked Michelle.

"Tonight on the pier."

"That's not so bad. It actually sounds romantic."

"Actually, there's more to it than that."

"What do you mean?" Rigby came up to her and whispered it in her ear. Michelle blushed deep red. "Oh... okay... well, I cannot control the choices people make. Um... good luck with that." She walked away and Skips followed her. The two friends went back to doing their own thing.

"What did he say?" asked Skips.

Michelle felt something in her throat. It was almost vomit. She swallowed it down and said, "I'd rather not repeat it." With that said, the two went back to work.

The day ended, just as it usually did, with an enchanting sunset. Michelle and Skips were reclined on the roof of the park house, watching the sunset and waiting for the stars to come out. It was nice... peaceful.

When the stars did come out, they just laid back on the roof and looked at them. They each had their own stories to tell. Sometimes, they were both familiar with the tale; other times, one was familiar with it and the other was not. It made for good conversation and the two felt like they were getting to know each other very well. As they looked at the stars, their hands brushed against each other. They slowly clasped together.

Michelle took a deep breath in and sighed out, "This is the most peaceful night I've had in years."

"Yeah, this is nice," said Skips.

Silence fell over them. A comfortable silence. Then, the two noticed something streaking across the sky. "Oh, look! A shooting star!" said Michelle. She sat up, closed her eyes tightly while rubbing a feather on the side of her head (her lucky feather), then, after a moment, re-opened them.

"What did you wish for?" asked Skips.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" asked Michelle, a playful sparkle in her eyes and an innocent tone. The two laughed and Skips brought Michelle forward in a kiss. When they parted, Michelle said, "Besides, if I told you, it wouldn't come true."

"And if it does come true?"

"You'll know... but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt by telling you." She smiled and Skips smiled back. The two looked away from each other, bashful. Nearly two months of dating and they still acted like kids discovering love for the first time.

"Hey, I gotta go get something, but I'll be right back, okay?" asked Skips.

"Why can't I come with you?" asked Michelle.

Skips shrugged. "Well, you _could, _but I would prefer it if you waited here for my return." He made to get off the roof, but Michelle's voice stopped him.

"Skips, wait!" Skips turned. He awaited what she was going to say. "Aren't you scared, Skips?"

"Of what?"

"Of being separated... it's hard enough being anthropomorphic, but to add onto it, we're immortal too. We're hated by nearly every spiritual being out there. Some of them want to hunt us and some of them want to watch as we destroy ourselves." Michelle hugged her knees to her chest. "I'm still afraid for you, Skips, for _us._"

Skips came forward and patted her back. "You needn't be." She looked at him and he smiled. "There's nothing I've faced that I haven't been able to fight. Sometimes it was just me and sometimes it was with the help of my friends, but I have prevailed life's problems. You don't need to worry about me, Evangeline. I'll come back to you." He kissed her forehead gently and leaped from the roof.

"What if you're not, Skips? What if you don't return?" Michelle asked, still on the roof.

"I will, Evangeline." It sounded so like a promise that Michelle didn't protest further and let him go off to the engagement of mystery. She was still afraid for him, but she was somewhat comforted by his words. This was Skips, after all, and who could possibly face Skips and take him down?

It turned out, Skips was on a mission with the guys: Mordecai, Rigby, Muscle Man, High-Five Ghost, Benson, Thomas, Pops, Gary, Reginald (one of the Guardians of Eternal Youth), Death, and Skips's cousin, Quips. Skips had gathered them at his house and they didn't know why he had gathered them there. As requested by Skips, they brought their girlfriends/wives (Quip's wife has stayed home because of a prior arrangement.) When Skips came in, the questions began.

"Okay, Skips, what are we doing here?" asked Benson.

"Yeah, this better be worth it. We're missing wrestling for this!" said Muscle Man.

"Unless this is about Michelle, I'm out," said Death, sanding at his bony fingers.

"This _is _about Michelle," said Skips. Death stopped sanding and leaned back in his seat, ready to listen.

"Why do you care so much about Michelle anyway?" asked Angelica, Death's wife and Michelle's adversary.

"I _care _because I'm still in love with her," replied Death. There was a gasp from some of the people gathered there. "What? It's the truth. That doesn't mean I'd get back with her, but it also doesn't mean I'm gonna turn my back on her. I know she doesn't want to be with me. She never could be with me, all because of what I do."

"What girl _would _wanna be with you? You collect souls of the dead _and _the living!" said Rigby, throwing his arms up in emphasis.

Angelica was about to get up, but was stopped by Death. "It's all right, Angel. He makes a point," said Death. He looked tired, almost as if he were a mortal with thousands of years on his back. At least half of it was true. He turned to Skips, "Whatever you need, we'll get it done. It's the least I can do for her."

"All right, here's what's gonna happen: the girls will keep Michelle at the house. They'll be the distraction and make sure she doesn't leave, no matter what," said Skips.

"What if there's an emergency?" asked Eileen after raising her hand and being called on.

"Then go to the storm cellar. There's no safer place than there to be," answered Skips. He went on with his plan: "Meanwhile, the rest of us will split up around town. We're searching for this..." He pulled out a sketch of a book. The title read: _Perfect Wedding by Evangeline Michelle. _

Death looked at the sketch. "I remember that book. Michelle would be working on it when she thought I wasn't watching," he said.

"What else do you know about it?" asked Skips.

"I know that the book is meaningless without being together. She's taken pages out and scattered them in hiding places. I can take you to every location except the location of the last page. I think she called that page: _Happily Ever After._"

Skips nodded. "Then that's what we'll do. We'll split up, get the pages, and meet back here. We'll discuss possible locations for the last page when we meet again." With that, they went their separate ways.

The girls (CJ, Eileen, Starla, Celia (High-Five Ghost's girlfriend), Audrey, and Angelica) went to the park house to make sure that part of the plan went smoothly. Michelle saw them coming. "Angelica...?" asked Michelle.

"Death told me we should forgive each other, so, I'm sorry if I offended you by besting you in being a Siren in every way," said Angelica.

Michelle recognized it as an un-apology, but went with it anyway. "Okay," she said. She put out her hand and Angelica shook it, but pulled away as soon as possible as if burned. Michelle turned to the rest of the girls. "So, what's going on?"

"Skips wanted you to have a girl's night with us," said CJ.

"Really? Huh... okay. I haven't had a sleepover in 54 years... officially anyways." Michelle shrugged it off.

"You're totally overdue then! Come on!" said CJ. The girls went inside and, while most of them weren't really girly girls, they still had fun. Some time later, they were all giggling on the floor of the living room.

"All right, all right, so now what?" asked Michelle.

"Why don't we just talk about our boyfriends?" asked Starla. Most of the others went _Oooh. _"I'll go first. Mitch is the best thing that's ever happened to me and the way he kisses-" From there, it just got _really _gross for everyone else there.

"Yeah, but what _don't _you like about him?" asked CJ.

"There's nothing I don't like about him," said Starla.

"Oh, come on, there's gotta be something. Everyone has something they don't like about their guys," said Michelle.

"Oh, yeah? Name yours and I'll name mine," said Starla.

"So, you're admitting you have one?"

"Just answer the question."

Michelle's face brightened. "Skips is what a lot of girls would want. He is more than well-built, he's a tank that no one else would come against, if they were smart. I find no fault in his physical strength. He's intelligent, due to his many years of being immortal, and that has hardly ever failed him, so I can't fault him there. He has a pure heart that few get to see because of his rough exterior. There's nothing wrong with that. I know he's had many things he's faced over the years, but that is not something I can find fault in either since I've faced either equal or worse situations. There is one thing that troubles me though..." The girls leaned in, awaiting her answer. "I'm concerned about his pride." The girls all groaned out, disappointed. "No, hear me out! What I'm saying is that sometimes, Skips needs to be the best at something and if he is not, he does everything he can to get there. I don't know whether to applaud him for determination or turn my back on that trait and label it as selfishness."

"Well, who could blame the guy for wanting to be great at stuff? He's already pretty good at everything," said CJ.

"Yeah, but don't let Skips hear you say that," Michelle said, a smile on her face. "So, Mitch's fault, spill," she said to Starla.

"All right, all right, I guess I just wish he could not be so concerned about himself all the time," replied Starla.

"Ah, see? I'm not the only one that has a guy who's glorifying himself," said Michelle, finding small victory in this point. "What about you, CJ?"

"Me?" asked CJ.

"Yeah, you and Mordecai," said Michelle. Under normal circumstances, she'd leave the room if gossip was being spoken, but getting all of her inhibitions out-of-the-way helped her loosen up and socialize.

CJ snickered a little. "Well, he's really cute and responsible and nice. I just wish he'd stop getting into trouble," she said.

"Same here. Rigby's always getting into trouble," said Eileen. "But, he makes up for it by being really cute and funny. He always makes my day when he comes to the coffee shop."

" 'He makes up for it,' " said Michelle. The term was familiar with her. Too familiar. "Okay, what about you, Celia?"

Everyone turned to High-Five Ghost's girlfriend. "Well, come on, he's a ghost! How is a relationship like that supposed to work?" They all laughed at that. They knew it was a joke. "Seriously though, we have so much in common that most of the time I don't even notice it."

"Bet you'll notice it on your wedding night. _Oh!_" said Renae. Michelle snickered a little, but smacked her friend in the back of the head.

"Knock it off," said Michelle.

"Well, it can't be any worse than what Audrey's got," said Celia, pointing at the girl who had lately become the close friend of Benson, the gumball machine. Some even argued that they were dating, but no one was really sure on it, not even them.

"Yeah, he's a gumball machine, and yeah, he's got this really weird feel to him. I mean, it's _like _touching a gumball machine when we hold hands, but it's also _not _like it, you know?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah, I know," said Michelle.

"What, did you have sex with a gumball machine once?" asked Renae mockingly.

"An anthropomorphic one? Yeah," replied Michelle. Silence. "He was a nice guy. Sex was weird though. They're kinda different and you can't do it at the same time. You have to go separately, which was often frustrating."

"Okay! Moving on," said CJ.

"Despite the texture of his 'skin' and his temper, he's a really sweet guy. He just gets frustrated at the end of the day and I can't really blame him. From what I hear, this job is really stressful for him," said Audrey. They all murmured in agreement.

"All right, Angelica, it's your turn. What don't you like about Death and what _do_ you like?" asked Michelle.

"I don't know, you had him first, so you tell me," said Angelica sourly.

"He still likes me, doesn't he?"

"Ya think? I mean, why do you think we've still got this rivalry going? I caught him in a room with an explicit portrait in it." Michelle blushed deeply and avoided eye contact for a moment. "You see? She knows what I'm talking about."

"That was a long time ago, Angelica. He obviously married you because he moved on... and you should too."

"It's hardly 'moving on' when he just said a few hours ago that he still loves you." Michelle felt a tugging at her heart at that. "And I guess you feel the same way too, don't you?" Angelica was near sobbing, some tears were already falling.

"Would you have me lie and tell you what you'd rather hear or tell the truth and hurt you more than I already have? I don't want this rivalry between us anymore. Yes, Death and I had a thing. Yes, we were in love. Yes, it was not done so formally or cleanly as you have done. Yes, I'm sure we both feel some small connection to each other still... but we chose our paths. I chose to go after Skips because I still loved him, more than Death. Besides, I couldn't live Death's lifestyle... or 'deathstyle' I should say. Angelica, he picked you because you agree with his path, you love him despite his faults, and nothing in the past is going to change what happens now."

"I just wish he didn't love you anymore." Angelica began crying more then and, as the girls came forward to comfort her, they failed to notice something going on outside. There were spectral copies of the guys... and they looked ready to get in a fight. They headed off in a different direction... toward the original guys.

* * *

**Hmm... why didn't I mention Renae's lover? What's up with the ghostly copies? What will happen next? Please keep reading and reviewing to find out, thanks :)**


	13. Chapter 13: The Fight

Chapter 13: The Fight

Skips and the guys had split up into two-man teams: Mordecai and Rigby; Muscle Man and High-Five Ghost; Benson and Pops; Gary and Reginald; Thomas and Quips; Death and Skips. So far, everything was going according to plan. As they searched for the pages of the book, they didn't suspect the danger coming closer to them with every step.

Death and Skips were in the darkest part of the woods in the park. Everyone else had split off into different directions across town. The place they had chosen was possibly the most dangerous (right next to the mountain's danger). Neither immortal spoke for some time.

"How far back do you two go?" asked Skips.

"Michelle and I?" asked Death. Skips nodded. "Well, we've known each other for the entirety of her immortal existence. Things only got romantic in more recent years."

"She broke up with you because of what you do, right?"

"That's correct."

"So, why was she with you in the first place?"

"At the time, she had recently gotten off of a bad situation. She felt she could find comfort in me. We had plenty of good times together. I don't really believe there was a genuine love between us, but looking back on it, I become less and less sure with each passing day."

"So?"

"I know we can't get back together. Neither of our hearts would be in it. I chose Angelica because she understood my work and appreciated me. We got married, adopted a child, and that was that."

"Why did you two adopt?"

"We aren't compatible, biologically speaking, to have children." Skips laughed a bit at that. It was more like _thanatology _than it was _biology _when it concerned Death. A pause.

"How much further?"

"Not very. I recognize these surroundings. It's a very special place where we're going."

"Why's that?"

"I won't say." Death had a slight smile on his face and glanced at Skips to see his reaction. The innuendo was either lost or not fully understood since Skips said nothing and made no reaction. There was a rustle in the bushes and Death removed his scythe from his back. "Something's here." Skips put up his fists and they both faced the bush. This was, however, a distraction. The real trouble was behind them. One figure jumped and landed on Skips's back while another jumped and landed on Death's back. Skips flipped his over and saw a translucent form of himself. He looked over at Death and saw a similar creature.

"What are you?" asked Skips to his copy.

"I am the personification of all your perfections. I seek to take down you who are imperfect," said the Skips copy.

"Oh, great; they're Imperfectionists, spirits made to destroy anything imperfect," said Death, struggling with his copy as he ran his copy into a rock. Death's copy let go and Death joined Skips in a back-to-back position, the both of them facing their adversaries.

"How do we stop them?" asked Skips.

"They can't be stopped unless we can overlook our imperfections and prove we don't have a problem with them," said Death.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Before anymore could be said, a scream pierced the night. "That's Rigby!"

"Run!" said Death. The two made a break for it and ran off in the direction of the scream. It turned out to have come from the graveyard. When Skips and Death arrived, they saw Mordecai and Rigby fighting with their doubles. "Come on, then, Skips," said Death. They went forward to try to help them.

Meanwhile, the girls had already fallen asleep. This sleep was broken by a scream. Michelle sat bolt upright, as did the others who were light sleepers. Michelle rushed to the window. "The only reason I wake in the middle of the night from sleep is if there's trouble. Come on, girls, our guys are in trouble," she said. The heavy sleepers were woken and they headed off into the night.

Back with the guys, they were all being corralled to the graveyard by their doubles. It didn't take long for them to get surrounded. The 12 men were back to back, facing the seven copies. Numbers would say that the original guys would win, but with how powerful these Imperfectionists were, numbers didn't matter.

"Skips!" came a voice. Skips looked in the direction it came from and saw Michelle running up. She was in a night-dress and her feathers weren't as neat as they were in the day. When she came close and saw the problem, she gasped. "What have I done?" The Skips double had turned around and, upon seeing her, came toward her. Michelle's eyes widened in fear. She ran off in another direction and the double followed. The rest of the girls there had, by this time, caught the attention of the other doubles. Off they ran. The remaining men split off into different directions, following after either their copies or to help.

Michelle knew what the problem was. By her words, she had made an Imperfectionist. "I should have known this would happen. These grounds are deeply immersed in magic. No wonder Skips decided to stay for all those years. Anything that comes from these grounds is a force to reckon with." The Skips double made a leap and Michelle ducked underneath. "What do I do? I've only ever _heard_ of these things. I've never _fought_ one!" She kept running, hoping beyond hope that she didn't get captured.

Gary and Reginald, in the meanwhile, had asked for the pages of the book that they had gathered. They went to the house and into Michelle's room to search for the final page. Perhaps once the book was joined together, the Skips double would go away. If not, at least the book would be together. Yet... there had to be some magical property to it. Why else would Michelle go through such painstaking measures to keep the pages apart?

Mordecai ran after his double. CJ was ahead of the pack, being chased by the double. Normally, CJ would try to take charge in a situation like this, but the look in the double's eyes was a look that made facing him a seemingly impossible task. She only hoped that the real Mordecai would get there in time.

Mordecai was able to tackle his double and they rolled around on the ground, struggling. CJ took refuge behind a tree. She looked around for something she could use, anything to help him. She looked at her feet and noticed a rock. _Perfect, _she thought. As soon as she had a clear shot, she threw the rock at the double. This only made the double turn its head and look angrily at her. _Uh oh, _she thought. The double got up, but Mordecai tripped him.

"Get away from her!" he said.

"Why should I? You're a freaking jinx, dude," said the double, getting on top of Mordecai.

"Am not!"

"Oh, really? Why does all this stuff keep happening around you then? Why didn't you finish college? Why is it always that whenever trouble happens, you do nothing to stop it?"

"Do you think I go into situations looking for trouble?" Mordecai knocked his double off of him. The two stood and faced each other. "Look, I might not be the perfect guy, and yeah, I do get into trouble a lot, but that's just a piece of who I am." The double vanished in a bright flash of light, screaming until he vanished. CJ went up to Mordecai and kissed his cheek. The two embraced and began making their way back to the park house, hand in hand.

Rigby wasn't faring any better. He chased after Eileen, trying to protect her from his double. When he caught up to her, he gave her a boost into a tree to be safe. It was just in time for the double to come his way. The double tilted its head at Rigby, as if intrigued.

"Go away!" said Rigby.

"No! I'm not going away until you admit that you're the cause of trouble and that you're lazy!" said the double.

"I'm not lazy, I just take really long breaks!" He got shoved by his double into the tree.

"The more you deny your flaws, the stronger I become."

Rigby struggled under the grip of his double. It was true, he was strong. "Okay, fine! You win! I take too many breaks and I get everyone I care about into trouble. I'm an infection, I cause trouble with everyone I touch!" Rigby panted. "But I don't care about that. I'm lazy because I just want attention and I don't want to do work because I think it's lame. I get into trouble partly because I'm curious, but also because I do things just to do things: to see what happens. I don't care about that. I am who I am." The double backed up and vanished, screaming all the way. Rigby panted from the stress. He put his arms up and helped Eileen down. "Let's go." They both headed back, holding each other close.

Muscle Man's double was scary. Wherever Starla ran, the double punched through. Trees fell and anything else in the way was trampled. Muscle Man followed his double and was eventually able to get close enough to tackle him. "Get away from my girl, bro!" said Muscle Man.

"No way! You're a selfish slob," said the double.

"Hey! Starla digs the slob part of me and as for the selfish part, I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, yeah? How many times have you ditched your girl for something else?" A pause. "Exactly."

"All right, maybe I go into overkill sometimes, but that's just a part of who I am." The double vanished, same as the others before him. Muscle Man got up and said to his girl, "Now, where was I?"

"Right here," replied Starla, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. He began kissing back and from there, grossness ensued.

The rest of the guys had similar experiences: their double would chase their girl, they'd take down their doubles, and admit their inner selves. Everyone had faults. High-Five Ghost could never be in a true relationship with Celia; Benson had _major _anger issues; Death held onto those who had left him; and while Skips had attachments to friends of the past, his bigger problem was his pride. It's fine for a man to be proud of himself, but it gets to be too much sometimes... and it can hurt.

They all re-joined inside. The book was together, everyone was safe, and the doubles were gone. They all lounged in the living room, getting a breath after the experience. Skips sat beside Michelle on the couch. She had her knees hugged to her chest with a sad expression on her face. There was definitely something wrong here. They all thought the fight was over, but it was far from it.

"Why do I even bother?" asked Michelle, her voice choked up. She got up and headed upstairs. Skips and Renae followed her. Everyone else stayed downstairs and chatted among themselves.

Michelle got a suitcase from the closet and began packing. Skips came in and grabbed her hands, "Whoa, whoa, hey, what are you doing?" he asked.

Michelle jerked around, trying to get free, but Skips was too strong. "I'm guilting you into this and I don't like it. I'd rather have something genuine, preferably something where I can stop worrying about whether I'll be safe... whether _you'll _be safe," she said. Skips let go slowly. "You can admit it freely, Skips, you don't love me in the same way that I love you." She paused and avoided his eyes. "That is why I've decided to leave."

"Well, if you're going, I'm going too," said Renae.

"No, Renae, you don't get it. I'm an infectious disease, infecting everyone I'm near. If I go alone, you all have a better chance of surviving, of living," said Michelle. Her eyes were shining with the unshed tears threatening to fall at any moment.

"Michelle...?" asked Skips. He was standing in front of a chest and looking in at the cane that Michelle had lent him to use in the fight against the black magic band.

"What, Skips?" Michelle's voice was harsh and impatient. She thought she was doing this for their good.

Skips removed the cane from the chest and walked over to Michelle. She gasped. This was the first time in a long time she had seen him walk anywhere. "I want you to help me remember you," he said.

"I can't," said Michelle, turning her back to him.

"Why won't you let me in? What are you protecting me from?"

"I was there! Okay?!" Silence.

"Where, Michelle?"

Michelle let out a sob noise and said, "I was there at the dance... at _your _dance. I wanted to see you up closer than I had been seeing you. I wanted... I don't know. I made myself immortal so that I could watch over you. If everything went all right with Desdemona, I'd watch you until the end of your days, like a guardian angel. I figured she already had your heart... and she had. Then, I had to go and ruin everything.

"While at the dance, I got too close. You recognized me from before as a friend. I hadn't used the mind wipe on you yet. I had the option to do so since I was given it by the Guardians, but I wasn't sure I wanted to. I wanted to be remembered... I wanted to be remembered by _you. _

"While at the dance... during your battle with Klorgbane, there was another force at work there. As you know, Adam is Fear. He has been ever since his initiation... on that day." Michelle shivered and continued, "So, when Klorgbane began terrorizing the whole school, he found himself a seat there. It was he who helped Klorgbane with the design for that weapon... and brought down the ceiling on Desdemona. I mean, the thing hit the wall, how can that possibly ripple all the way to the ceiling without a little help? I tried to help. I got on top of Desdemona as the ceiling fell. I underestimated what would happen.

"The ceiling that fell on us had a sharp piece of wood that went straight through the both of us. It didn't matter that I was a shield for her. If I hadn't been immortal, we both would have been dead.

"After the fight was over, I came out of the rubble. The hole in my middle didn't hurt so much as the looks I was getting. I had Desdemona's necklace in my hand. I saw your heartbroken look. I gave it to the Guardians and Gary sped my healing. You came up to us and asked what the meaning of it all was. You seemed to blame me. I had to remedy that. I used the mind wipe on you and Gary replaced the memory with a similar one. He made it as if I were never there. It's my fault she died. It's my fault you couldn't lead a normal life. It's my fault you remember nothing."

"Then give me back the memory," said Skips.

"Skips, I-" said Michelle.

"Please, Evangeline. I need to see it for myself," said Skips.

"Very well." She waved the cane around and pointed the end at his head. The end glowed and, while it was bright for a moment, it soon cleared. "There. You are now free to hate me." Michelle went back to packing.

"Evangeline, wait..."

"What now, Skips?"

"It's not your fault. You did what you could and I'm grateful for it."

"But?"

"Actually, it's more of an 'and.' "

"Very well. And?"

"And you've done so much for me throughout my life, been there for me. It's unfair that you won't let me be there for you."

"I've never really loved any of the men I've been with. I've always felt an emptiness. Since you never left my heart or mind, I thought you were the one... but I'm scared, Skips. I'm scared that if we get together... more... that I'll feel the same emptiness with you. Then, once we're together, it'll be harder to stay safe."

"Not necessarily..." Skips smiled.

"What did you have in mind?" Skips's reply was to kiss her. It wasn't a long kiss and it wasn't a short kiss. It wasn't too simple nor too heated. It was just what Michelle needed. "All right, maybe I could get used to that," she said when they parted. Skips's smile widened.

"Why don't we go back downstairs? I have something I need to talk to you about in front of everyone." Michelle smiled and her eyes shone in that simple, almost coy way.

Once downstairs, he sat her down and Renae sat beside her. Michelle pushed Renae off the couch and onto the floor. The raccoon leaned against the couch on the floor, close enough to touch Michelle, but far enough away that it wasn't a problem. Michelle gave Renae the "Don't you dare come any closer" look before looking at Skips. He had picked up the book from the table and Michelle gasped.

"My Perfect Wedding! I planned that thing for so long, changing it every now and then due to changing wedding trends. I was planning it for... the one. How did you find out about it, much less put it together?" Michelle was breathless and amazed.

"You talk about 'true love' and 'the one' like they're attainable things and they're not," said Renae.

"I don't know, there are plenty of people who wound up pretty happy together," said Michelle.

"Yeah, and plenty that wound up divorced," Renae muttered.

"Evangeline?" asked Skips softly.

Michelle turned to him, "Yes, Skips?"

"Well, Evangeline... I found out about this from a scrap of paper that had slipped from your pocket at my house." Michelle looked thoughtful a moment before nodding her remembrance.

"I didn't think it was still in my pocket, but that was a good catch."

"I thought about it and now, especially since I've had my thoughts confirmed by remembering what happened, I'd like to ask you if we could try it... together."

Michelle felt the blood leave her face. _Is he asking what I think he's asking? _"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Michelle..." he walked over and got down on one knee in front of her. "Will you marry me?"

"Skips, I'm scared," she said. There were tears of happiness and fear in her eyes.

"I'll be right beside you the whole way, I promise."

Michelle's tears didn't subside as she said, "I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry." She ran up the stairs to her room and they all heard the door slam. It felt like a valve had been pulled from Skips's heart and the rest of the room was no better... except for one who was smiling slightly at this turn of events.

* * *

**What a web of interesting things we have going on here. Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)**


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